Youngblood: Faith and reason

Fermat's Enigma by Simon Singh

FAITH is reasonable, while science, to some extent, is founded on faith. These are two conclusions I made after pondering the relationship between faith and science. It was a "mathematical novel" I read recently that influenced me to undertake the exercise. The book, titled "Fermat's Enigma," was written by Simon Singh, a Ph.D. in particle physics at the University of Cambridge. It tells of the epic quest to solve Fermat's Last Theorem, regarded as the greatest mathematical problem of all times. I could say that the exercise led me to some rather startling discoveries.

(Click here for a brief explanation on Fermat's Last Theorem)

First, not everything in science has a proof. In fact, the whole of math, an abstract branch of science, is founded on statements that are so fundamental that they do not have proofs! These statements, called axioms, are either self-evidently true or else are assumed to be true.

Persons who espouse the philosophy of scientism accept only assertions that are supported by scientific proof. For this reason, they reject dogmas of faith. "Prove it to me!" they demand. "I could prove to you this mathematical theorem, can you prove to me that dogma in a similar way?"

But their challenge is empty of meaning, for not everything in science has a proof.

Second, scientific proof always contains at least a tiny element of doubt. Singh explains: "Scientific theory is merely considered highly likely based on observation and perception, both of which are fallible and provide only approximations to the truth. Science is operated according to the judicial system. A theory is assumed to be true if there is enough evidence to prove it 'beyond all reasonable doubt.'"

As example, he related scientists' continual search for the basic building blocks of the universe — from the atoms of the 19th century up to present research on quarks. He shows how one theorem could be refined by another or, at times, completely replaced. Singh then explains that mathematical proofs, on the other hand, are built on axioms and logic, such that, "if the axioms are correct and the logic is flawless, then the conclusion will be undeniable."

Knowledge from math then is more stable than that from science. This is because math, unlike science, is not subject to the level of inaccuracy that comes from the observation of matter. Instead, knowledge is abstracted from matter. But knowledge from faith is even more stable than knowledge from math. It comes neither from observation nor abstraction of matter. It comes directly from God, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.

Kurt Godel

Third, math admits it cannot prove everything. The mathematician Kurt Godel has proven that there are statements (apart from axioms) that math can neither prove nor disprove.

Now, this is very interesting. If math, the strictest of all branches of science, admits it cannot prove everything, then it follows that science, to a greater extent, cannot prove everything. Thus, the foundation of scientism crumbles!

But even without Godel's discovery, we should have arrived at the same conclusion. Man does not have a perfect knowledge of himself, even from a biological point of view. Mapping out the human genome is just the beginning of an enormous biological puzzle. So could he dare claim that he could explain everything in the universe?

Finally, a great part of science is founded on faith. In order to prove Fermat's Last Theorem, Andrew Wiles had to rely on the contributions of many great mathematicians before him. He did not try to prove again all of their theorems. Instead, he believed that their theorems were correct. He placed his faith, his human faith, in them.

Andrew Wiles

Faith is an assent of the will to accept truths from another by virtue of his authority. Much of science is founded on faith. Many of us, scientists included, accept Einstein's theory of relativity because of his authority as a physicist and not because we understand his proof. But if we can put our faith in Einstein who was mortal and fallible, why can we not place it in God, who is immortal, infallible and the source of all authority?

It is not my intention to discredit science and math. The world has made significant progress because of them. But we cannot be deceived into thinking that they provide the answer to all questions. There are many questions that can only be answered by God. In fact, He has already answered some of them through the truths He has revealed.

We have to accept these truths even though we may not completely understand them. They are not unreasonable; rather, they are beyond reason. They are true not because we understand them but because they were revealed by God, the fullness of truth Himself.

Published on page A15 in the Young Blood section of the July 09, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

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