Beliving Where We Cannot Prove
Philip Kitcher
I. Opening Moves
Simple distinctions come all too easily. Frequently we open the way for later puzzlement by restricting the options we take to be available. So, for example, in contrasting science and religion, we often operate with a simple pair of categories. On one side there is science, proof, and certainty; on the other, religion, conjecture, and faith.
The opening lines of Tennyson’s In Memoriam offer an eloquent statement of the contrast:
Strong Son of God, immortal love,
Whom we, that have not seen Thy face,
By faith, and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where we cannot prove.