Volume 31, Issue 1/2, 2019
Roberto Di Ceglie
Pages 59-77
https://doi.org/10.5840/philtheol2020519122
Rethinking the Circularity between Faith and Reason
In this article, I focus on the circular relationship that, in his 1998 encyclical, Jean Paul II argued there is between faith and reason. I first note that this image of circularity needs some explaining, because it is not clear where exactly the circular process begins and ends. I then argue that an explanation can be found in Aquinas¡¯s reflection on the gift of understanding. Aquinas referred to the virtue of faith as caused by God, which promotes human reason, and this in turn strengthens the certainty of faith.