Calvin believed that man’s knowledge of God and the Universe is limited, but the use of reason can bring this limitation to man. Calvin did not believe that man’s ability to know the universe is limited.
It was not unusual for a sixteenth-century theologian to hold different views of the nature of God.
St. Augustine believed that through the Holy Spirit people can learn. This made him reject the system of modalism and force him to adhere to the doctrine of theosis, according to which a person can achieve a state of perfect communion with God.
Montaigne, a French philosopher and poet, wrote about Augustine’s epistemology and the knowledge of God. Montaigne believed that human knowledge is limited and that God can only be known through faith in God and the use of reason.
Montaigne believed that a person cannot have true knowledge of God without the help of God and the Holy Spirit. Montaigne believed that «the truth of faith is the only knowledge that can produce true knowledge.» Montaigne believes that there is only one and final truth, and that knowledge is obtained through faith in the «absolute one God.» Montaigne believed that faith, according to Augustine, is a means of knowledge, and the truth of faith is true knowledge. This led Montaigne to believe that if a person believes in a being outside the universe and if this being has infinite knowledge, then the person will reach a state that is known to God.
Gottfried Leibniz believed that human intelligence is limited by reason. Leibniz believed that man is limited in his understanding of the Universe, because he is limited by natural laws that limit his ability to perceive the Universe in its entirety.
Aristotle described in detail what scientific knowledge of something means. To be scientific, he said, one has to deal with causes, use logical evidence, and identify universals that are «inherent» in particulars of meaning.
The use of the senses must be consistent with our scientific research. As in Ancient Greece, we are fascinated by the mysteries of the world around us. There is an amazing world of form and formlessness, which is so indescribable, while inside we can see the complex details of reality and make judgments about what is right and what is wrong. We study all aspects of our experience and discover the universals and peculiarities of our experience.