Sem. Roger Ryan D.

Alba
Fides Et Ratio
March 10, 2020

PHILOSOPHY, THE HANDMAIDEN OF THEOLOGY

The maxim that philosophy as the handmaid of theology can be easily

understood in layman’s terms as philosophy is the foundation of theology. This

statement is quite analogous to a creamer, which always needs a substance for it to be

used or consumed such as coffee, chocolate, and the like. Philosophy can also be a

foundation, not just with theology, but with other different fields of studies or disciplines.

It became the foundation of math in relation to Pythagoras in his Pythagorean Theorem;

of science, in relation to Democritus and Leucippus’s concept of atom, psychology, and

the like.

But what makes theology peculiar with philosophy? Why does theology need

philosophy? First, philosophy is needed in order that theology might be a science at all.

This is because a science is a body of knowledge that has its own set of principles and,

on the basis of these principles, derives further conclusions. This is true of mathematics,

biology, engineering, and so forth – and it is also true of theology. Now, while the

principles of the science of theology are not known by philosophical reasoning since

they come by revelation, the further conclusions that flow from these principles are

derived with its help. The principles of the science of theology are given in the articles of

the Creed and in Sacred Scripture and they are known by us through faith, not through

philosophical reasoning because man cannot, by unaided reason, conclude that the

doctrine of the Trinity is true, for example. Nonetheless, from the starting point of these
principles which are received by faith, further conclusions can be drawn, and this is

done by philosophical reasoning.

But what can be their connection? What makes philosophy the handmaid of

theology? Before theology was brought into existence, philosophy became the field of

study by man. It was the Greeks who influenced the Western world with their

philosophy. It became the wisdom of the Greeks at that time and not just wisdom, but

source of truth. For the Church Father, philosophy is the preparation of a person to

understand theology. Philosophy comes from the root words Philos and Sophia, which

means love of wisdom. With this kind of idea, philosophy encompasses wisdom. To

understand the nature of the divine, one must possess wisdom by studying it with the

help of philosophy in order for us to understand the causes and truths of it. In other

words, for the Church Father to understand the divine, we must know the process of his

manifestation with the help of causes and effects in line with wisdom through

philosophy.

Thomas Aquinas would also argue that philosophy is the handmaid of theology.

For him, philosophy does not destroy theology, instead it perfects it. 1 Both disciplines

deal with the truth, the former deals with natural knowledge, and the latter deals with

faith. In order for us to understand these revealed truths by faith, a preparatory stage is

necessary, or there is a certain prerequisite, which is philosophy.

The second service that philosophy renders to theology is that it allows a deeper

penetration into the truths that are already known by revelation and deepens our

understanding of revealed truth through the “analogy of faith”. This is when a truth

1
Thomas Aquinas, (Boethius on the trinity). p.
known by revelation is compared with one that can be known by reason; the analogy

allows for a clearer understanding of the fittingness of the revealed truth.

The third way that philosophy comes to the service of theology is built upon the

fact that truths known by sound philosophy and truths known by revelation alone cannot

contradict each other. Truth is truth and something cannot be both true and false in the

same respect and at the same time. Another way to reach this same conclusion is to

note that God is the one source both of revealed truth and human reason. A beginner’s

impression in the discipline of philosophy and theology might be that there is no

difference between them except of preference. For a beginner, both fields of study

occupy different department universities, but both deal with the same question. The

only difference from his perspective would be that theologians would see only God, and

religion, and philosophers would see these things but in line with reason such as logic

and causality. In other words, philosophy speaks of truth through reason and theology

talks about revelation of truth through the Divine Being we call God together with His

creatures, more particularly with human beings.

The fourth invaluable service rendered by philosophy concerns the defense of

the faith. Let us use, again, the example of the Trinity: that the Father, Son and Holy

Spirit are one God. We have already said that this truth is beyond the grasp of unaided

human reason and that we come to it by way of revelation. What happens if an

opponent of the faith objects to this dogma claiming that it is a contradiction because, as

he understands it, the dogma claims that three equals one and, as any first grade

student of mathematics knows, three does not equal one, but three. The philosophical
concept of creation, that something comes to be out of nothing, aids us in making sense

of revelation.

Finally, it ought not to be thought that the utility of the perennial philosophy

remains. For good or for bad, philosophical ideas beat a path down the corridor of

history: they have practical consequences in the way people live their lives.

To sum it up, philosophy is the handmaid of theology, because Philosophy can

stand on its own based on natural reasons and causes while theology would revolve in

God’s revelation. But in order for us to understand how God manifests the truth in little

ways, philosophy is necessary in order for man to understand God with the help of his

function or nature, which is His rationality. Philosophy is not futile. It serves as a

foundation and a ground factor for man to understand and deepens their way of thinking

especially when it comes to defending the faith. Since theology is the study of the

highest things, it is fitting for it to have a basic basis and foundation to stand and it is the

task of philosophy to do so. With the study of philosophy, theology can be explained.