"The way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason"

Benjamin Franklin's statement, "The way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason", confronts the longstanding tension between faith and rationality. He implies that faith and reason are often in conflict, and to experience or truly apprehend matters of faith, one must temporarily set aside logical, analytical thinking. Faith, as Franklin sees it here, requires a leap beyond evidence and critical examination; it involves trusting in something not fully substantiated, perhaps even contradicting what reason might suggest.

The "Eye of Reason" refers to the faculties of logic, critical thinking, and empirical understanding, the tools with which people analyze, question, and discern truth based on observable evidence. Reason relies on doubt, inquiry, and proof. However, "seeing by faith" suggests a different approach. To see by faith is to perceive reality based on belief, trust, or conviction in what cannot be proven or demonstrated through reason alone.

Franklin’s words carry an element of critique. He highlights that for many, embracing faith necessitates a conscious disregard of logical scrutiny. This doesn't necessarily denigrate faith, but rather identifies its distinctive nature: faith operates in a domain unreachable by rational means. For centuries, philosophy and theology have grappled with whether these two ways of knowing can coexist or must remain separate. Franklin’s aphorism suggests that faith asks something radical: the suspension, if only briefly, of rational judgment.

There is also a subtle irony in Franklin’s phrasing. He was an Enlightenment thinker, valuing science and reason, and his articulation hints at skepticism toward beliefs that require the abnegation of rationality. The implication is that belief unexamined by reason may be less reliable or even suspect. However, for adherents of faith, this very abandonment of reason is a kind of spiritual surrender, a willingness to trust what is not seen, to experience a reality above and beyond the limitations of reason.