Rationalism gave way to agnosticism. Philosophy narrowed its view to the world of phenomena. In movements such as pragmatism and logical positivism, philosophy marginalizes itself. Settling for a total absence of meaning, postmodernism turns philosophy against its original vocation. This degeneration of philosophy, the Pope points out, has had baneful repercussions on the life of faith.
Contemporary believers are reluctant to make any claim to universal and abiding truth.
They speak by preference of feeling and experience. Theology, yielding to this trend, limits itself to biblical studies and religious phenomenology. The new encyclical presents a ringing call to philosophers and theologians alike. It challenges philosophers to restore the sapiential character of their own discipline and recover the full range of reason. Although no one system can do justice to the complexity of reality, Thomas Aquinas can serve as a model and guide.