The article starts with the motives of the publication of the encyclical 'Fides et ratio' by Pope John Paul II. Then it describes briefly the history of relations between faith and reason, mainly in modern times, and perspectives for the development of this relationship. The article concludes with an account of the importance of hermeneutics, metaphysics and ecclesiology for theology.
The article is a response to S. Holub's reply to my article 'On the Relationships between Belief, Philosophy and Theology'. It defends the analytical approach taken there by making a distinction between two sorts of adequacy of an approach. It is argued that the approach is adequate in the sense of analyzing and explaining some sine qua non aspects of belief; namely, statements. If essentiality of statements for belief is denied, the loss of cognitive value appears to be imminent.
The article deals with the mutual relationships between belief (understood as a set of propositions), philosophy and theology. The role of philosophy in relation to theology is direct, as philosophy offers theology conceptual and methodological tools. It is indirect when philosophy attempts to prove some truths of theology and remove obstacles to faith. Not every philosophy is suitable to play a direct role. Christian philosophy is a philosophy which does not contradict belief, its presuppositions and implications, and is suitable to play a direct role.
The paper offers a description of the philosophical systems of two Neothomists of the late 19th century: Lajos Franciscy and Ede Mihalovics, drawing on their contributions published in the journal 'Bolcseleti Folyoirat'. Prevailing in Franciscy are ethical and psychological works, while Mihalovics focused mainly on epistemology and the relationships between philosophy and theology. The texts presented are the evidence of their belonging to the 2nd and 3rd lines of Neothomist authors of that time in Hungary.
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