Science is the study of the physical world and how it works.  The practice of science is observation and mathematics is its principle tool.  Science yields understanding and, through technology, mastery of the physical world.

Faith is one’s personal inquiry into what is right and good.  Many of us find our roots for this inquiry to be in religion, others in the humanities, some in their community.

Philosophy is the use of human reason to increase wisdom, the goal of which is to live a life that is right and good.  Scientific understanding is a start, but faith provides the compass that points us towards the goal. 

In my view, these three approaches to knowledge are interlocking spirals, like the three spirals displayed in the head of a sunflower.  Our knowledge is enhanced when we bring these three together as they are symbiotic and reciprocal.  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

At the same time, we have to recognize that knowledge is empty unless it is put to a useful purpose.  The pathways are many, but they all require effort and action dedicated to the goal of a life that is right and good.   What motivates us along the path?  The same force that flows, with ineffable power, through the universe – the force of love.

“The universe has given us life, beauty, joy and self-reflective consciousness – it has loved us.  In turn, it is possible for each of us to reciprocate this love.”  The How and The Why of Emergence and Intention.  FQXi essay, April 2017.