Abstract

From early in the Christian era—certainly from the time of Clement of Alexandria—and for centuries thereafter, Western philosophy was considered the “handmaid of theology.” Its job was to be of whatever assistance possible to “faith seeking understanding.” In the modern period, with the gradual waxing of a liberated science and waning of ecclesiastical dominance over every facet of intellectual life, the functions of the maid became recognized as of comparable value and validity with those of the mistress. While ostensibly finding it necessary to “deny knowledge, in order to make room for faith,” Kant sought to establish faith philosophically as rational, his theology emerging from a more fundamental moral philosophy.