In some circles, faith is said to be one of three theological virtues, along with hope and agape.
But not everyone thinks faith is a virtue, theological or otherwise. Indeed, depending on how we understand it, faith may well conflict with the virtues. In this chapter, we will focus on the virtue of humility.
Does faith conflict with humility, or are they in concord?In what follows, we will, first, sketch a theory of the virtue of humility. Second, we will summarize a common view of faith, arguably shared by Thomas Aquinas among others, and we will argue that faith, so understood, is not an intellectual virtue and that it conflicts with humility in the domain of inquiry. Third, we will plump for an older view of faith, one that predates Aquinas by at least 1500 years. Fourth, we will argue that, on that older view, faith is an intellectual virtue and it is in concord with humility in the domain of inquiry. Fifth, we will contrast the two views of faith both in relation to humility and in the domain of personal relationships.
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