Knowledge about Faith and Science

What is the key to a successful knowledge in means of faith and science? How can assistance be that key to successful learning? In compliance with philosophy, people view faith andscience with different perspectives. Some may think that faith brings upon atrue reality, while others believe more in reasoning and logic. Faith may be portrayed as a tree that branches out with different opinions; one main topic can bring upon many different subtopics. Religiously, some people view faith asa belief and trust in God and His acts. Others may see faith as the exact opposite of logical reasoning, but not to a religious extent. Empirical scienceis the reliance on logical reasoning and evidence and this concept main lyconsists of people who believe that faith cannot bring a true reality, but scientific facts and observations can create that true reality. Although, these two concepts often contradict each other, there are ways that the topics have beneficially influenced each other towards a true reality. How can faith and science be considered beneficial when striving for truth? Perceptions of faith have altered over the past couple ofcenturies.

Philosophers continuously create different outlooks and contradictions to the ideas of others. Views of faith have become more detailed and specific with new ideas emerging from prior opinions. One philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, brought upon the idea of existentialism, which can be defined as people containing the free-will to define themselves. Kierkegaard thoughts offaith in terms of leap of faith meaning that when given a difficult choice, aperson may have to take a chance when choosing a side, and then endure the possible consequences of that decision (Faith and Reason: Kierkegaard's Legacyn.pag). Science has its similarities and differences with views on faith. Emerging from empirical science, is the well-known scientific method. The scientific method is a scientific discovery that turned minds once again to materialism.(Velasquez 158). The scientific method begins with a fact, or a claim that contradicts some theories from philosophers. The method continues to go through many steps to narrow the focus of the subject to analyze and observe any empirical proof or evidence, and come to a final conclusion. Some people view science evidence as the only way to reach the truth, others believe that faithis the only path to a true reality, and then some others believe science and faith assist each other when looking for a true reality. The concepts faith and empirical science may conflict with each other many times, but in some ways they have proven to work together while striving for a true reality.

What are the theories empiricism, rationalism, and foundationalism and what do the concepts consist of? Empiricism determines a person's knowledge by personal sense experiences. Empiricism's development was assisted by the following philosophers: John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume. Locke believed, to an extent, that empiricism was a great theory because he thought that smaller and simpler ideas could be pieced together to create a complex idea. In other words, it is similar to putting together smaller pieces of a puzzle to create one large picture. While empiricism focuses on the theory of true knowledge by sense experience, rationalism is the concept in which aperson's true knowledge is gained by reason and logic. Locke may have agreed with some aspects of empiricism but, ultimately, he sided with the rationalistic theory.

Rationalists commit to ideas of other theories such as skepticism and foundationalism because they contain views that are similar or comply with opinions from rationalism. Most opinions from empiricism do notcomply with the opinions from rationalism, making them almost completely opposing theories (Rationalism vs. Empiricism n.pag.). Foundationalism can bedefined as a view that different concepts are justified because of a continuousroutine. For example, say someone has a piano rehearsal every Thursday. This person has experienced foundationalism because he or she have justified a continuous routine. This explains Similar to faith and science, the theories of empiricism, rationalism, and foundationalism have connections among each otherthat can assist with bringing a true reality forward. When contemplating the theories of foundationalism andlogical positivism, how can these topics influence faith and science? Aspreviously stated, foundationalism is a concept in which acts or judgments arejustified by a pattern or usual routine. This theory is applied to philosophybecause there are patterns that exist when justifying whether a subject is trueor false. (Foundationalist Theories n.pag.).

Acts or steps of faith,religiously speaking, occur such as Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation.As a Catholic, students go through a process to understand faith and acts ofGod. The process towards confirmation is an example of foundationalism becauseit consists of a usual routine for people from the age newborns to young adultsthat will eventually gain the Christian title. Foundationalism, in philosophy,can determine truth by justifications. The theory influences the belief infaith and science because the number of people that believe in faith willdecrease, and the number of people that believe in science will increase. Manypeople nowadays tend to believe more in empirical proof and science because itis easier. Ultimately, the impact of this pattern of increasing and decreasingnumbers will completely discard faith and science will control the population.Foundationalism complies with rationalism because they both justify an act oropinion by observation instead of belief on its own.

In simpler words, theoriesof science prove a subject as the truth because it can be displayed for others.For the side of faith, a person must only believe the subject is the truthwithout any justifications. Finding the truth with the assistance of faith,proves to be difficult for many people because they cannot physically observethe subject. Logical positivism, alsosimilar to rationalism, is a natural and important role for logic andmathematics and to find an understanding of philosophy (Logical Empiricismn.pag.). Logical empiricism differs from empiricism because logical empiricismis the attempt to understand philosophical theories with reasoning. Empiricism focusesmainly on the development of experience through personal senses. All theories mentioned prior to this point, are complex and entangled. This explains why itis sometimes difficult to prove that faith and science can assist each otherwhen searching for a true reality.

What are the causes and effects of the conflictingconcepts of faith and science? Faith and science can affect many people, notjust the people involved with one side or the other. Since faith has manycomplex ideas, Kierkegaard's is not the only one to contemplate. Regarding thisinformation, Kierkegaard's definition of faith is not the only conflictingconcept. Empiricism relates to faith and it also brings upon many topics that proveto be contradictory. One major conflict that arises from faith is the proof andevidence from science that may discontinue the original concept of faith. If this begins to occur with all topics involved with faith, then the concepts maybe completely forgotten. More people may start discovering empirical proof toconstantly contradict ideas of faith, leading to science controlling most ofthe population. Science does not seem to be endangered even the slightest bit,but levels of faith may begin to drop.

Science, in fact, continues to evolvewhile producing deductive evidence within observations. Faith may not beproviding many new concepts and ideas, but old practices are still functioning(Perception of Conflict... n.pag.). Faith and science continue to conflict witheach other, but neither are at a great risk of withdrawal. Throughout many centuries, ideas and understandings offaith and science have evolved. From Kierkegaard's leap of faithunderstanding to A.J. Ayer and his favorable topic of Logical Positivism, thetwo topics have become much more complex over the years. Logical positivism (orlogical empiricism) can be defined as a statement that is only meaningful ifit is either purely formal or capable of empirical verification (LogicalPositivism n.pag).

In other words, the information must be completelyscientific or it must be justified by faith. This is a big reason as to why theconcept is an issue. Proving a scientific theory wrong with faith is more difficultthan vice versa. A.J. Ayer attempted to understand the problem with inductivereasoning, but was continuously unsuccessful. The issue with inductivereasoning explains why proving a scientific theory false with concepts of faithdoes not function well. Moving from a specific and detailed concept to a morecommon topic does not make much sense. In most cases, faith and sciencechallenge each other, but infrequently, they can assist and truly prove the opposingtopic. Attempting to bring together the topics of faith andscience is difficult, but it can be done.

Difficulty emerges from other philosophicaltheories such as empiricism, rationalism, foundationalism, and logicalpositivism. Many of these theories mainly oppose and falsify faith, which makesthe topics of faith and science even more disconnected. Although, they havethis opposition, there are ways that they prove each correct. As previously stated,there are steps of faith for Christian students. As these students become religiouslyconfirmed, they develop into young adults that will begin their new life. Somemay obtain jobs within scientific fields while still acquiring and portraying religiousfaith. People are the answer as to how faith and science can coexist. Peoplecreate the connections between faith and science and among many other conceptsand this is what brings a true reality.

Works Cited

1. https://apologetics315.com/2016/09/terminology-tuesday-propositionalism/
2. https://www1.cbn.com/faith-and-reason-kierkegaards-legacy
3. https://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/22/perception-of-conflict-between-science-and-religion/
4. https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_logical_positivism.html
5. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ayer/
6. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justep-foundational/
7. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism/

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