Herder Book Supplement - Papers by Bernard Lonergan - A Review by Michael Novak

Sep 28, 2026

A review analyzes the long-delayed publication of Bernard Lonergan’s published essays and evaluates how the collection is received by different audiences. It highlights biographical framing, discusses the range from historical Thomism to later concerns with contemporary science, existentialism, and cultural change, and identifies key essays, including “Finality, Love, Marriage.” The review also outlines the collection’s structure, noting major themes in logic, theology, conceptualism, openness, and related critiques, and describes how the series is presented within a quarterly review context.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time37 min

AccessFree to download

Shaping The Future

The Ten Most Significant Catholic Books of 1966

HerderTcLruary 1967Book Supplement Collection:Papers by Bernard Lonergan A Review by Michael Novak The long-delayed publication of Bernard Lonergan'spublished essays will be greeted with joy by Lonerganbuffs,with curiosity by the many to whom his name hasbecome famous,and with advance resistance by thosewho feel excluded from the club of "those who under-stand."Lonergan is said to have resisted earlier publica-tion in the hopes that his work would not become subjectto sloganeering;his absence from public sight seems,ironically,to have encouraged the very thing he fearedmost. Crowe,S.J.,provides a biographical introduction and adescription of the various settings and situations whichthe papers were designed to meet.The introductions arehelpful,but they are too Thomistic and seminary-orientedin their range.In general,the subjects covered by the firsthalf of the book are diverse and deeply embedded in historical Thomism;thosein the second half are in-creasingly concerned withcontemporary science,ex-istentialism,and culturalchange. The one essay of thefirst eight which deservesimmediate and wide-spread discussion is"Fi-nality,Love,Marriage”(1944),the most thoroughand profound rethinkingof the relationships be-tween the many valuesinvolved in marriage yetachieved by a Catholic. Bernard Lonergan,S.J. Inexplicably the article, which first appeared in Theological Studies,went unde-bated,undiscussed,as if over the heads of moraltheologians. Of the other seven early articles,two concern problemsin logic and geometry of use to specialists like thoseanalysts of logic and language interested in a preciseunderstanding of medieval views.Another is a pedestrianpiece on the doctrine of the Assumption and one is a longreview of a book on the Thomistic conception of howGod acts through secondary causes.Two others are basicto Lonergan's conception of the relationship between thesecular and the holy:“The Natural Desire to See God”and "Theology and Understanding."The latter is espe-cially brilliant;it lays promising groundwork both for thequestion of the development of doctrine,and for theproblem of transposing meaning from one cultural con-text into another.The former relates philosophy totheology in a way very like Paul Tillich's famous "methodof correlation”;a paradox arising in philosophy finds an Thus,the act of bringing Lonergan's work out into theopen is certain to be beneficial,both for Lonergan and forhis growing audience.Lonergan has missed the debate,the prodding,and the counter-prodding,which wouldhave brought his keen mind into closer touch with thedialog of his time.Too long have his contemporariesheard about him,without hearing him directly. Lonergan has an empirical turn of mind without equalamong contemporary theologians.His thorough masteryof methodological issues imparts to his work a clarity notattained by Rahner,and a profundity not attained byKüng. In Collection,Lonergan is represented by sixteenessays dating from 1943 to 1965.The editor,Frederick E. HERDER BooK SUPPLEMENT,a quarterly review of majorreligious books,is published in February,April,Septem-ber and November. CONTENTS Collection:Papers by Bernard LonerganA Review by Michael Novak1Shaping the Future:The Ten Most SignificantCatholic Books of 1966Two Approaches to Sexuality:Appraising the Controversial Booksby Oraison and EgnerSituation Ethics in an EcumenicalPerspective by Karl Rahner.5Meeting God Where He Is:Louis Evelyon Brotherhood and Suffering7Book Reviews18 ■ answer in theology.This essay also includcs Lonergan'sclearest account of "conceptualism,"the worst insult inhis arscnal. The first eight essays in short,providc an excellentintroduction to Lonergan's critique of traditional Thom-ism;but they are for most people,on that account,of lessinterest than the more recent ones. For these begin to fulfill the promise which the earlierwritings hold out.The long excursions into ancient andmedieval problems have yielded their fru

FAQs

Which essay is singled out as deserving immediate and widespread discussion?

The review highlights “Finality, Love, Marriage” (1944) as the one essay of the first eight most worthy of broad discussion, emphasizing its rethinking of values involved in marriage for a Catholic.

Sep 28, 2026

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