Reason and Faith 25 Years After the Encyclical “Fides et Ratio”

The aim of this article is to reflect on the topicality of John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et ratio 25 years after its publication. The author considers this topicality by considering four aspects of the unity that occurs between faith and reason: historical-cultural unity, anthropological-social unity, systematic unity, and paradigmatic unity. Although in the history of Western civilisation there has sometimes been an agreement between reason and faith, this unity has been relative and temporary. Similarly, unity on the systematic plane can only be provisional, built on incomplete knowledge and the current state of faith. Therefore, the unity of reason and faith can only be paradigmatic. Its foundation is the human experience of the complementarity of reason and faith in man’s pursuit of truth. The actuality of the encyclical Fides et ratio is due to its reference to anthropologicalsocial unity and paradigmatic unity founded on metaphysical knowledge of the world and man.