Intellectus Quaerens Fidem: Georges Florovsky on the Relation between Philosophy and Theology

Paweł Rojek

doi:10.18290/rf.2016.64.4-8

Paweł Rojek Jagellonian University in Kraków

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rf.2016.64.4-8

Keywords: Florovsky; Christian philosophy; Post-Secularism

Abstract

In this paper I take a closer look at Fr. Georges Florovsky’s original view on the relation between philosophy and theology. I argue that he tried to formulate an approach based on patristic experience and opposed to the dominating secular paradigm of philosophy. In some sense he wanted to reverse the traditional account. As Teresa Obolevitch aptly suggested, he wanted to replace the principle fides quaerens intellectum by the rule intellectus quaerens fidem. In that first default case the faith needs to be justified or proved by the reason, in the second, unobvious one, the faith has an absolute priority and illuminates itself the natural thought. According to Florovsky, philosophy should not attempt to ground the theology, formulating arguments for the existence of God or proving the coherence of theism, but rather should accept theology as a fundamental premise and then develop a new, non-secular account for the old philosophical topics.

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