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Editorial

Faith and Thought

by Rick Lewis

Some people say that philosophy and religion are two quite different, quite separate, independent activities, like, say, waterskiing and playing the violin. If they are right, somebody might happen to be both a philosopher and a deeply religious person at the same time without there being much connection between these two parts of their life. Actually, my waterskiing analogy may be a poor one, as you probably can’t water-ski and play the violin at the same time, though it might be fun to watch you try. Nonetheless, it might seem quite plausible for somebody interested in, for example, symbolic logic or philosophy of language to claim that their philosophical work had no effect on their religious opinions and observances, or vice versa.

We know that philosophy and religion are certainly compatible – after all, some great philosophers have also been great men of faith, like Aquinas and Augustine, Maimonides, Al-Ghazali and Kierkegaard.

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