Verso una filosofia della luce e dell’ascolto?

Il secondo capitolo dell’enciclica sul Lumen fidei

Abstract

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. This phrase, attributed to Albert Einstein, with the implicit metaphor of the light, through the blindness, would emphasize that faith and science are not irreconcilables. This paper aims to answer to the question made by Pope Francis I (but also by Pope Benedict XVI, as we will see), that it is possible to reflect on the relationships between religion and science, faith and reason, theology and philosophy, ethics, religion and art, Hellenism and Christianity, biblical message and recent achievements of the reason... in the light of the second chapter of the encyclical letter Lumen fidei. In this chapter, summarizing some aspects of St. Augustine’s life, the encyclical letter discusses about the decisive moment in his journey of faith, identifying it with the listening to the voice of God (philosophy of listening), but without neglecting the light and the vision (philosophy of light). From this result, it can be again proposed a reflection under a mainly philosophical and religious perspective, with a deep attention to the acoustic and visual perception of the divine, that allows the ancient pairs of terms between faith and reason, theology and philosophy, faith and science...