(Prof. Jose Vidamor B. Yu, Manila)

Philosophy is one of the various human undertakings which manifests man’s thirst for the truth. It has provided man the systematic way of acquiring and believing in the truth. Both Western and Oriental cultures have their own unique ways of knowing and searching for what is true and good. Man’s quest for the truth had shaped modes of thought and cultures, and whatever man holds true and good is considered a cultural treasure.

Man’s desire for the truth is an integral part of his human nature. As man asks basic questions about life, he comes to develop and nurture his humanity. Philosophy teaches us that when man seeks the reasons why things are as they are, man realizes that the quest for knowledge and truth is an innate property of the human reason. (cf Fides et Ratio 3) It is a gift planted and endowed deep in the heart of the human person. Thus, man finds himself obeying the desire and dictates of his heart.

The thirst for truth then, is not only a human endeavor but it is also God’s initiative. It is God’s own way of drawing man to himself. As man seeks for the truth, he comes to know himself, the world, his relationship with the rest of creation and finally the Creator. The search for the truth defines man’s uniqueness among God’s creatures.

Man’s thirst for the truth helps him discover the various human sciences that will facilitate him in attaining his goals. These human sciences assist man in his thirst for truth. They answer the fundamental questions which pervade human life like: Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What is there after this life? The answers to these questions which are found in the various philosophical works like the sayings of Confucius and Lao Tzu, the poetry of Homer, the teachings of the Tirthankaras and the Buddha, Plato and Aristotle are indicative of man’s search for truth and meaning. John Paul II reminds us that, "the answer given to these questions decides the direction which people seek to give to their lives." (cf. Fides et Ratio 1)

The Church is always a companion in man’s thirst for the truth. The Church is at the service of giving man the answers to his quest. The Church received the gift of the ultimate truth about human life, and She has made her pilgrim way along the paths of the world to proclaim that Jesus Christ is "the way, and the truth, and the life" (Jn 14:6). (Fides et Ratio 2) As Christ shares in the history of man in the search for the truth, this quest becomes a shared effort. This provides the reason why both Eastern and Western cultural and philosophical systems should be complementary. The Church has its mission to check that the development of cultures should not be separated from the Truth. When cultures develop apart from the truth, the tendency would be to separate morality also from the truth. The Church encourages man to contemplate on Divine Revelation in order for him to receive the fullness of the truth. The Church upholds and shares the Truth because She is primarily a lover of the Truth.