Belief or Nonbelief? Umberto Eco and Cardinal Martini’s Exchange of Letters on Faith and Ethics
A dialogue between the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, and Umberto Eco tries to settle the main questions about secularism. Belief or Nonbelief? A Confrontation is a collection of reflections on Christianity and secular thought, in which freedom of argument comes first: an intense debate on the role of human beings in the contemporary world.
Authors: Umberto Eco (1932–2016) and Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini (1927–2012)
Title: Belief or Nonbelief? A Confrontation (Italian original 1996)
Format: English paperback (Arcade), 112 pages
Scope: Exchange of letters on faith, ethics and secularism
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/1611456894 (ASIN 1611456894)
Hard Questions
The exchange covers theological questions and the challenge of technology, the meaning of faith and the role of women in the Church, among other controversial subjects that remain unresolved today. It offers a full view from both sides, allowing the reader to ask questions and reach conclusions without one idea dominating the other.
Many Voices
Philosophers, journalists and even politicians complete and comment on the exchange of letters between these two figures. Written on the eve of the new millennium, the book is a continuous reflection on the role of the Church in the year 2000 and beyond, and on the development of ethics in modern society.
How the Exchange Began
The letters were first published in 1995 and 1996 in the Italian magazine Liberal, which invited the two men to correspond in public, and they were collected in a book in 1996 under the title In cosa crede chi non crede? ("What does someone who does not believe believe in?"). Each man proposed a question in turn: the meaning of the approaching millennium and of apocalyptic hope; when human life begins, a question at the heart of the abortion debate; why the Church does not ordain women; and, finally, what foundation ethics can have for someone who does not believe in God.
Two Remarkable Men
Umberto Eco, a semiotician at the University of Bologna, was internationally famous for his novel The Name of the Rose (1980) and for essays on everything from medieval aesthetics to popular culture. Carlo Maria Martini, a Jesuit and a distinguished biblical scholar, was Archbishop of Milan from 1979 to 2002 and one of the most open-minded figures in the Catholic hierarchy. In Milan he had founded a "Chair for Non-Believers", a series of public meetings at which believers and non-believers discussed fundamental questions together, which made him a natural partner for Eco.
The Final Question
The most memorable exchange concerns ethics without God. Martini asks, with real curiosity, on what basis a secular person can hold to moral values. Eco replies that ethics begins with the recognition of others: we become aware of ourselves through other people’s eyes, and so the needs and dignity of others become binding on us. It is a brief but beautiful statement of secular humanism, and Martini receives it with respect.
Further Reading
Readers who enjoy this exchange might look for the later dialogues between believers and non-believers that it inspired, or turn to Eco’s own essays.
Who Should Read It
Believers and non-believers alike, and anyone interested in how to disagree well. Each letter is only a few pages long, so the book can be read in an evening, but the questions it raises about life, death, women in the Church and the roots of morality are worth returning to. It is also a fine introduction to two of the most attractive minds of late twentieth-century Italy.
Why Read It
It is short but dense, a model of respectful disagreement between a believer and a non-believer. In a time of shouting matches, it is refreshing to read two brilliant minds actually listening to each other.
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