[Version 2.0, 7 October 2009]
This lesson is intended for three types of persons:
When we speak with non-Catholic or non-Christian friends about our Faith, they may ask us, "How do you know"? "Where did you get this knowledge?" "What guarantees do you have that what you believe in and what you are saying is true?"
This question does not, properly speaking, fall under the realm of Theology; it is a philosophical question. But it is, nevertheless, a valid question. Philosophers call it a "GNOSEOLOGICAL" or an "EPISTEMOLOGICAL" problem. It simply means a problem of how-does-one-know? It precedes all questions of a person inquiring about the Faith, because before a person can accept and believe what we are telling him, he has to know the source from which we have obtained our knowledge. A thorough examination of the ways by which man knows will reveal to us three basic PATHWAYS TO KNOWLEDGE, three ways by which we know some fact or event, three ways that stem from the limitations of the human mind.
1. The First Way By Which We Know
Let us suppose someone asks us one of the following questions:
We would probably be able to give an answer right away. But what if that person were to quiz us further, "How do you know?" That might sound like a strange question to us. If he insists, then we would probably say, "Well, I can see it. It's obvious."
The first way by which we know is through seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or touching. The first pathway to knowledge is that which makes data available to us through our SENSES, i.e., knowledge attained by DIRECT OBSERVATION. We use this pathway--SENSE KNOWLEDGE--everyday. It is absolutely essential for our survival. If we could not see, or hear, or smell, or taste, or touch the world around us, we would not be able to react to it. In fact, the two other pathways to knowledge always pass THROUGH the SENSES in one way or another.
2. The Second Way By Which We Know
The pathway to knowledge that comes through the senses is one of the ways by which we know. We are, however, capable of further exploring the data we receive from the senses, which makes us capable of making more discoveries. Our mind works on the data of sense knowledge and from that data, we come to know other FACTS that are NOT IMMEDIATELY OBSERVED by us.
For instance, if I asked you, "Do I have a brain?" what would you say? Do you think I have one? Can you see it? touch it? No, you cannot. But you do think I have a brain. You observe certain things that lead you to conclude that I have one.
Another example: when someone shows us a beautiful photograph, we ask, "Who took this shot?" When we see a lovely painting, we ask, "Who's the painter?" When we hear a catchy tune, we ask, "Who composed it?" The photograph, the painting, the song all tell us about the existence of someone--perhaps hitherto unknown to us--who made them because our experience tells us that things don't make themselves. They are made by someone else, though we don't know or see the author or the artist himself.
Another example can be found in events or happenings around us. Let us say you arrive at your office one day, and when you get to your desk, you notice that the computer keyboard is not there. But you distinctly remember that the previous day, when you left the office, it was still there. What would you think? Could you imagine it just vanishing into thin air or just simply walking away? Even if you did think things vanish into thin air, wouldn't you still ask what caused that thing to happen?
By nature, we are curious beings. As we grow and mature, this curiosity grows. We discover that in the world around us things influence each other. We grow into a world of causes and effects. So when we observe certain phenomena, we start to ask "What made that happen?", or "Why did that happen?", or "How did that happen?" We investigate, we inquire into their CAUSE or CAUSES.
Thus, a second pathway to knowledge is through REASONING, particularly one enriched by experience. We also employ this method of knowing everyday. It would be impossible to work only on the basis of what we have actually seen or observed with our own eyes. Our powers of observation are simply limited. So we have to make use of our power of reason; we need to think.
We use this type of knowledge acquisition for scientific investigation. Science assumes that there is such a thing as a cause and effect. If science did not believe in cause and effect relationships, it would have no reason to ask how or what makes things happen. Science would be limited to describing how the world is, without being able to relate phenomena to each other. It would not be able to offer an explanation for things. Consequently, we would not be able to harness it for practical applications. Scientific knowledge would be of little use to us.
3. The Third Way By Which We Know
So far we have seen two ways by which we obtain knowledge: first, by DIRECT OBSERVATION and second, through REASONING. From the bare facts we learn through observation, we expand our knowledge through the use of reason. Yet there is a third pathway which further broadens our knowledge.
Let us use an example to illustrate. If I asked you, "When were you born?" you would be able to give me a quick answer (unless you don't want to reveal your age). Then I could ask you again, "How did you know that? Did you check the calendar when you were born?" You might say, "Mom told me," or "The birth certificate says so," or "DNA testing" (note: I don't know if DNA testing can reveal one's age at this stage of biotechnology). In any case, you are making an affirmation ON THE BASIS OF ANOTHER PERSON'S WORD, not on the basis of your own observation or of reasoning things out by yourself. This is what we call BELIEF. We can also call it HUMAN FAITH.
Now, although you do not have first hand proof of the date of your birth, you will probably never say, "I BELIEVE I was born on ...." You don't say you "believe". You actually confirm it as a fact that you KNOW, as if you had observed it yourself, as if you had checked the calendar the very day you were born. But the reality is that you learned this fact from someone else. Your knowledge of your birthday is mere belief. This example shows how strong "mere" beliefs can be.
Indeed, belief in a certain fact is often based on other beliefs, i.e., knowledge not attained either by direct observation or reasoning. For example, if you tell me that it was your mom who said you were born on such and such a date, I could quiz you further: "How do you know she is your mom?" Okay, it is not that I am asking you to doubt your mom's words. I am just saying that there are certain things we readily accept ON THE BASIS OF THE WORD OF SOME WITNESS WHOM WE DEEM WORTHY OF BELIEF.
A lot of our knowledge comes by this channel. We accept that the distance from the Earth to Mars is a certain number of kilometers because that's what the teachers, and the books, and the scientists have told us. We have not actually gone and measured the distance ourselves. When I was young, I knew Italy existed, though I had not gone there myself, though I had no way of deducing from the facts I knew that such a country existed. In fact, education is based on the premise that human faith is a source of reliable knowledge. Education would make no sense without human faith. This applies to other aspects of human life as well. For instance, company bosses in general accept the reports of their subordinates, and may not have time to check the veracity of their reports. We live on faith, human faith, for most of our lives, and we seldom stop to check whether the word of another person is worthy of trust or not. Unless experience proves otherwise.
4. Pathways to Knowledge are Pathways to Faith
The three pathways to knowledge, the three ways by which we acquire it, are also the three pathways by which we come to know the contents of Faith. (Note that no mention is made here of "feeling" or "sentiment" as a path to Faith.)
4.1 The Role of The Senses
We cannot see, or hear, or touch God, the angels, or grace. Spiritual realities are beyond the reach of our senses. (We should note that even some physical stimuli cannot be detected by humans, though animals can detect them. These physical stimuli, too, are beyond the reach of our senses.) This does not mean, however, that the senses do not serve any purpose in helping us know more about the Faith. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle tells us that there is nothing in the mind that has not been first in some way in our senses. When we are born, our minds are similar to blank sheets (in Latin, tamquam tabula rasa). Whatever gets imprinted in the human mind passes first through the senses. Hence, both reasoning and belief have to rely somehow on sense knowledge.
4.2 The Role of Reason
Some people claim they do not believe in God because they cannot see him. Because God is invisible, unless he reveals himself to a person, he cannot really be seen. Indeed, aside from God, there are many other things we cannot see or touch or taste. Things such as justice, friendship, loyalty, equality.... These things are manifested in specific circumstances, but in themselves cannot be seen in a physical and material way. In fact, as I mentioned above, we don't even detect all physical stimuli.
God cannot be seen, touched, or heard, but we can know about His existence through reasoning. In the same way that thousands of phenomena around us lead us to look for the causes we cannot directly observe, our mind can also discover the existence of a Supreme Being. The ancient Greek philosophers (Plato and Aristotle in particular) have shown how reason can lead us to the God. We shall see more of this in Lesson 1.
4.3 Accepting the Word Made Flesh
Seeing and reasoning are legitimate and important. And incomplete. Especially when it comes to things beyond nature--supernatural things. So we need someone's word, someone's witness. The witness is Jesus Christ. And he is also the Word.
Jesus Christ in turn established a Church, one that would continue to play the role of witness, and continue to teach the truth about God, man and the world. We shall see more of this in introductory lesson 4.
5. Other Ways to the Faith
Can God reveal himself directly to a person and skip all the three ways above? Yes, He may and has actually done so in the past. But only a few people have been privileged to go by this way. Ordinarily, God wants us to make use of the natural gifts He has given us (senses and reason), and the supernatural gift of His only begotten Son who bears witness to the Father, with the aid of light from the Spirit.