Complete Bibliography of Lonergan Studies

REVIEWS

Melchin, Kenneth R. Theoforum 38/3 (2007) 395-98.

Lonergan, Bernard. Shorter Papers, vol. 20 of Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan. (See LSN 28/4 [2007] 1.)

Barden, Garrett. Irish Theological Quarterly 74/1 (2009) 93-94.

Williams, Kathleen. Pacifica 21/3 (2008) 349-51.

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Beards, Andrew. Method in Metaphysics: Lonergan and the Future of Analytical Philosophy. (See LSN 28/4 [2007] 1.)

Bosco, Mark and David Stagaman. Finding God in All Things: Celebrating Bernard Lonergan, John Courtney Murray and Karl Rahner. (See LSN 28/4 [2007] 1-2.)

Book notice in Theology Digest 53/3 (2006) 264.

Connor, James L. ed. The Dynamics of Desire: Bernard J.F. Lonergan on the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. (See LSN 27/4 [2006] 1.)

[Reviewer unnamed.] Archivo Teológico Granadino 70 (2007) 257.

Crowe, Frederick E. Christ and History: The Christology of Bernard Lonergan from 1935 to 1982. (See LSN 26/2 [2005] 1.)

Melchin, Kenneth R. Theoforum 38/3 (2007) 398-400.

Gilbert, Paul and Natalino Spaccapelo, ed. Il Teologo e la Storia: Lonergan Centunary (1904-2004). (See LSN 27/4 [2006] 2).

[Reviewer unnamed.] Archivo Teológico Granadino 70 (2007) 371-72.

Morelli, Mark D. At the Threshold of the Halfway House: A Study of Bernard Lonergan’s Enounter with John Alexander Stewart. (See LSN 29:2 [2008] 5.)

Liddy, Richard M. Theological Studies 70:1 (March 2009) 214-15,

DISSERTATIONS & THESES

‘This qualitative study presents a renewed definition of Catholic education based on the theological notion of love-caritas-agape which Benedict XVI describes in the encyclical Deus Caritas Est (2005). The traits of love illustrated in the first part of the encyclical have been developed within a model of education enriched by the contributions of contemporary scholars as Bernard Lonergan (philosophy of education), Martin D’Arcy (anthropology), Paulo Freire (political education), Avery Dulles (theology) and Franco Imoda (psychology).’ (From the Abstract.)

Ekwueme, Evaristus Okechukwu. Bernard Lonergan’s Notion of Emergent Probability: Computer Aided Insights and a Possible Implementation on African History. Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Boston College, Boston, USA, 2008. Adviser: Patrick Byrne.

‘This dissertation explores Bernard Lonergan’s notion of emergent probability as a world process …The focus of this dissertation is on … human cooperation based on conditioned series of schemes of recurrence of insight and bias with respect to the levels of operations. Just as human beings have a desire to know, they also have a desire to make, … and remake, … thereby accumulating insights and establishing higher viewpoints for further knowing, making and remaking. This desire to make and the pattern of technological experience presupposes the levels of operations: technology, economy, society, politics, and religion.…[C]omputer information system is a key illustration of Lonergan’s notion of emergent probability. If information is a component of emergent probability, then information systems should aim at the actualization of insight as information. ... A possible implementation of an understanding of general notion of emergent probability and the primacy of insight as information can illuminate an understanding of the historical processes of the wheel of progress and defensive cycles operative in the African context. ... [Cr]eative appropriation and technological liberation, and cosmopolis constitute a viable solution to the development of dynamic system of integrity and authentication for understanding African history. ... The God presupposed by emergent probability becomes a solution to the problem of evil, the order of evil and social surd. ...’ (From the Abstract.)

Jacobs-Vandegeer, Christiaan. Envisioning a Methodical Theology of Grace: Exercises in Transposition Spanning the Early and Later Works of Bernard J.F. Lonergan. Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology, University of St Michael’s College, Toronto, Canada, 2008. Adviser: Robert M. Doran.

‘This dissertation discusses Bernard J.F. Lonergan’s transpositions of several of St Thomas Aquinas’ achievements into the contemporary theological horizon. It also offers an extended reflection on the nature of the task of transposition. Lonergan recognized the importance of integrating Thomist achievement into ongoing efforts for theological development and renewal in the life of the Church. My dissertation attempts to contribute to his efforts for renewal by showing how his intentionality analysis transposes central elements of Thomist rational psychology into the richer context of theological method. Having transposed the Thomist analogy of nature, Lonergan anticipated, I argue, a methodical theology that preserves Aquinas’ understanding of grace. The majority of the dissertation divides into two parts devoted respectively to Lonergan’s transpositions of Aquinas’ theories of intellect and will. Both parts conform in structure to the circle of metaphysics and cognitional theory, which I identify in the first chapter as the structure of transpositions in the context of methodical theology. I argue that transpositions may begin with either metaphysics or determinations from consciousness, because the isomorphism of knowing and being relates the two modes of inquiry regardless of the starting point. The two major parts of the dissertation attempt to perform what I suggest takes place in all methodical transpositions of theoretical theologies, namely, the completion of the circle. The final chapter discusses Lonergan’s transposition of “sanctifying grace” into the category of “being in love unrestrictedly.” It highlights the limits and achievements of the transpositions of Thomist theory and emphasizes the need for further transpositions in the work of constructing a methodical theology of grace.’

Laughlin, Peter Rod. Jesus and the Cross: Necessity, Meaning and Atonement. Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Theology, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia, 2008. Advisers: Neil Ormerod and Raymond Canning.

‘The proliferation of alternative models of atonement in recent academic literature ... raises the question of how to determine faithfulness to the Christian doctrine of redemption. This thesis contends that such determination can be made when the alternative model proposed is able to demonstrate sufficient continuity with the meaning that Jesus of Nazareth constituted for his death. To argue this point requires a five-stage investigation. Firstly the recent rejection ... of the so-called “myth” of redemptive suffering insists that it be demonstrated that God can create meaning out the contingent—and evil—event of the cross without becoming responsible for, or the transcendent cause of, Jesus’ death. ... God is freely able to create meaning (ex nihilo) out of the event without validating and justifying the violence of the event itself. In addition, the upholding of a Chalcedonian Christology requires that the meaning which Jesus of Nazareth constituted for his death be understood to have divine significance, and thus should be investigated for what it reveals to a theological understanding of the cross. This leads to the second stage of the investigation which is to defend the theological right to engage in matters of history. Arguing for the value of critical realism, the point is made that a faith perspective does not negate the possibility of objective historical knowledge since ... such knowledge does arise out of a spiraling dialogue between the knower and the object known. The third stage then follows, which is to argue how historical investigation into the Jesus of history might be done. Building upon James Dunn’s conception of impact, this study appropriates Bernard Lonergan’s understanding of constitutive meaning in order to highlight how the world of meaning that Jesus constituted for his death might actually function to impact the world of meaning of his followers. It is argued that what takes place is the constitution of a new world of meaning in which authentic existence is redefined. The redefinition challenges the disciples’ existing world of meaning and requires that they make an existential judgment of their own. But if such an impact is to occur then the challenge to the existing world of meaning must also be carried and it is here that historical investigation has its place. Drawing once more on the work of Bernard Lonergan, five carriers of meaning are identified, three of which (incarnate, linguistic and symbolic) are highlighted as the most relevant ...’ (From the Abstract.)

Whyth, Barbara M. Abortion: What is the Good? Developing a Deeper Understanding of Abortion: An Analysis with Bernard Lonergan’s Transcendental Method as a Creative Framework. Thesis for the degree of Master of Arts (Theological Studies), Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2008. (Adviser not listed.)

‘This thesis attempts to dismantle the world of meaning which limits the understanding of abortion to only two perspectives: pro-life and pro-choice, and to begin a tentative reconstruction framed on Bernard Lonergan’s transcendental method. His method, founded on the concrete subject seeking the good offers a creative framework which validates women’s abortion decision-making and acting, as an important source of moral data ... I use Daniel Maguire’s eight “reality revealing” questions and Lonergan’s notion of horizon and social structures in order to reach a deeper understanding of voluntary pregnancy interruption. There are several social structures which require abortion as act of meaning if they are to function effectively. An analysis of the “good” of abortion consists of Lonergan’s explanation of the human good; its components, the scale of values, and the three levels of the good. In the conclusion[,] concrete actions are suggested as the result of my tentative reconstruction of a world of meaning in which social and cultural values (the good) are incarnated by individual women voluntarily ending their pregnancy. The question is addressed: Does abortion promote human progress or decline as defined by Lonergan?’ (From the Abstract.)