Gospel & Universe 🔬 Science & Mystery

Possible Explanations

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.

—Thomas Aquinas

This aphorism gets at key differences between belief, disbelief, and doubt. For believers, the first part of the aphorism — To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary — has been true since the end of the late Classical Age, and continues to be true to this day. It suggests that faith doesn't need to be explained in any way, not by the logic of Augustine or Aquinas, and not even by a biblical chronology that starts in 4004 BC. In this lies the enduring quality of the statement: if it doesn't matter whether or not faith can be explained, faith can't be explained away.

The second half — To one without faith, no explanation is possible — is trickier to get at, and looks different depending on whether you’re an atheist or an agnostic. For most atheists, a scientific explanation for the meaning of life has not only become possible; it’s also become inevitable. Paradoxically, the scientific explanation — which historically has featured geology and astronomy, evolution and DNA — is almost an article of faith among atheists. This is hardly surprising, since science offers the most reasonable explanation we’ve got.

While almost all atheists believe in science, not all scientists are atheists. Some are agnostics, and some are believers. This suggests the immense power of science and the scientific method. In the next section, Agnosticism, I’ll argue that while the scientific method is respected by theists and atheists alike, it’s closest to agnosticism: both share a radical sense of doubt and a perpetually open mind to all possibilities. For agnostics and scientists, proof is contingent on the moment and is always subject to further verification.

For most agnostics, a scientific explanation is possible, but not inevitable. The scientific explanation holds for now, but there might be another order of explanation. What that might be, the agnostic can’t say. Religions, myths, and science-fiction hint at possibilities, but none of these are as solid as the scientific method itself. Yet still, for the agnostic the scientific explanation lacks a certain ils ne savent quoi. It’s clearly the most reasonable explanation we’ve got, but agnostics still wonder, Could there also be something else? Could there be more?

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Next: 🔬Dante’s Journey

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