“In the Western world – says the Pope - it is widely held that only positivistic reason and the forms of philosophy based on it are universally valid”. “Yet the world´s profoundly religious cultures see this exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason as an attack on their most profound convictions.
Sullo stesso principio, però, non convengono tante altre religioni. “Nel mondo occidentale - afferma il Papa - domina largamente l´opinione che soltanto la ragione positivista e le forme di filosofia da essa derivanti siano universali”.