Faith and reason : a process view. The Lord's prayer to the one and only God

Abstract

For an Aquinas Lecture, it seems to me that a topic that was of particular concern to Thomas Aquinas; namely, the relationship between faith and reason is eminently appropriate. Moreover, the recent publication of the encyclical Fides et Ratio, especially since it gives Aquinas special consideration, provides an added reason for this choice. In this lecture I shall first present my observations on the encyclical. I shall then offer another view of the relationship between faith and reason in the hope of furthering the discussion on this topic. I refer to this view as 'process' because it is based on the process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. It will also be evident that the term 'process' is used because the relationship between faith and reason that is envisaged is regarded as "in process."