溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
Do We Believe in Order to Understand, or Understand in Order to Believe?
Does knowing begin with no premise, or must it stand on some belief before moving to understanding?
Believe, that you may understand.
Augustine's formula "believe in order to understand" defined the relation of faith and reason for a medieval millennium. Anselm took it up as "I believe so that I may understand (credo ut intelligam)," moving from faith to reason, while Abelard reversed it — "by doubting we come to inquiry, by inquiry to truth" — putting reason first. Aquinas harmonized the two, holding that faith and reason reach the same truth by different roads. Even when Descartes dreamed of knowledge presupposing nothing, his doubt had to lean on the belief in God's faithfulness. The question of what trust knowledge stands on continues, changing dress into secular language.
In an age where no one can verify everything for themselves, the question of what we trust first before beginning to know grows only more real.
Augustine set faith and understanding as two facing doors.
📝I, Too, Stand Before It
Augustine set faith and understanding as two facing doors. He said believe in order to understand, and at once strive to understand what you believe. He spoke in the context of faith, yet the structure spans all knowledge. I sense this question touches whether knowing purely from a blank slate is even possible. Without some trust, not even the first learning begins. What to believe first and what to probe after — before that question of order I stand too.
✍️Your Answer
The lineage of the ancients ends here. Now it is your turn before the question. There is no right answer — only how you, today, would answer.
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