Fides et Ratio, Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, which deals with the relationship between faith and reason in the modern world, is quite direct in its criticism of modern philosophy’s relativistic and pluralistic tendency and some philosophical traditions such as pragmatism:
Rather than make use of the human capacity to know the truth, modern philosophy has preferred to accentuate the ways in which this capacity is limited and conditioned. . . . This has given rise to different forms of agnosticism and relativism which have led philosophical research to lose its way in the shifting sands of widespread scepticism. Recent times have seen the rise to prominence of various doctrines which tend to devalue even the truths which had been judged certain. A legitimate plurality of positions has yielded to an undifferentiated pluralism, based upon the assumption that all positions are equally valid, which is one of today's most widespread symptoms of the lack of confidence in truth. (FR, n.5)
No less dangerous is pragmatism, an attitude of mind which, in making its choices, precludes theoretical considerations or judgments based on ethical principles (FR, n.89).
In the face of such position of the Church, it would seem that the philosophy of Rorty, and pragmatism in general, should be discussed with caution or even be avoided. Especially since Pragmatism has elements which may endanger our faith: fallibilism, pluralism, relativism, skepticism, etc. All of these points with accusing fingers to its inherent dangers. And to add an ad hominem argument, Rorty is an atheist! If we were in the middle ages, Rorty would be burning at the stakes.
But let us not be quick to judge. For if we examine his arguments and that of the pragmatists, our personal faith may have more things in common with them than we wish to acknowledge. In fact, they may even serve as a guide for us in our journey of faith.
When Moses asked God for his name, God gave a cryptic answer “I am who am.” Personally, I think God did not give Moses a direct answer, a fact about his name. What He did, however, was to give Moses a promise – a promise that in the fullness of time, God will reveal himself in our human history. This promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ – God’s fullness of revelation. But God’s revelation does not stop with Jesus Christ. He continues to reveal Himself to us throughout our history. We just have to look carefully.
Now, the truth of our faith is an objective fact. This is what we believe in and what the Church sought to preserve and protect. Yet, subjective manifestation of this faith is quite another matter. We believe yet the truth of our belief as applied in our daily lives is oftentimes forgotten or ignored. Primary evidence: we sin. This evidence points to the fact that while there is the truth of our faith, the subjective possession of this truth still involves a long and arduous process of trying to live up to our faith. This is true even in the Church. Throughout history, the Church has made and will still make mistakes. And the Church constantly corrects her ways. This means that our faith is not static but a dynamic process.
Faith, without practice, is dead. This is where pragmatism comes in. Christian living involves theory as well as praxis (See Mt. 7:21). As Christians we are fallible –we have sinned, we sin and we will sin (see Jn. 8:7). But rather than taking this negatively, this points to another reality – we must rise up from our sins. We learn from our mistakes and this makes our faith stronger. And this constant “conversion” might as well a sort of relativism. That our life as Christians is “trial and error.” We constantly adopt methods and means (or paradigms) that will make us better Christians. Pluralism is also reflected in the fact that God individually and uniquely calls us to Him. There is no single path to holiness (or truth). We have to discover our own personal path that leads us back to God. And this pluralistic approach, instead of endangering our faith, enriches it. We enrich each other’s faith by our individual faith experiences. Each of us contributes to the progress of our common journey/pilgrimage to God. According to Professor Nubiola, “No es la verdad fruto del consenso, sino que más bien es el consenso el fruto de la verdad.” Together we discover and arrive at the same truth of our faith.
While it is true that we must remain vigilant against philosophies, such as pragmatism, which contain elements that may undermine our faith, we must not close our eyes to the truth (however partial) which they may contain. For God continues to reveal himself in our history, even in various secularist philosophical thoughts. Faith and reason are complementary. Together they can help us become better and faithful children of God.
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