Pope John Paul II Journal of Philosophy

The aim of this paper is an attempt to establish that philosophy is both the queen and handmaid of theology and other sciences. Using the method of analysis, this paper makes a historical and critical conceptual assessment of both philosophy and theology to understand the lines of queenship and handmaiden in the relationship between philosophy and theology. The paper studies philosophy as a rational inquiry into all the vicissitudes of life while theology is the science of God in relations to creatures especially the human person. This paper establishes that Philosophy is historically the first professional discipline which supplies the tool of reason to all other sciences and theology inclusive. The implication of the relationship between philosophy as a handmaid to theology is not that of slavery but as a minister or in the service of rational inquiry. This is not a relationship of superiority and subordinate but of service. Thus, philosophy provides theology with the tools for exegesis, interpretations, analysis, historicity, proofs/defense of dogma/faith, etc. Therefore, philosophy can be said to be the handmaid of theology while maintaining its position as the queen of all sciences.

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