Bernard Lonergan, S.J., often referred to as the most significant philosophical thinker of the twentieth century, finished his intellectual apostolate as Distinguished Professor of Theology at Boston College, where Lonergan studies were already flourishing. Today, decades later, they continue to flourish, as the Boston College Lonergan Institute fosters the ever-growing interest in this remarkable scholar and his seminal works.
Born in Canada in 1904, Lonergan entered the Society of Jesus in 1922. He taught at Jesuit seminaries in Montréal and Toronto, at Harvard as Stillman Professor of Divinity, at the Gregorian University in Rome, and at Regis College in Toronto. Faced with cultural upheavals that have shaken the very foundations of philosophy, the church, and economics, he recognized that the crises of modernity call for a profound recasting of "method." That recasting became his life's work.
Lonergan's most noted book, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding, explores what it means to inquire attentively, intelligently, reasonably, and responsibly. As Lonergan himself wrote: "One has not only to read Insight but also to discover oneself in oneself." Insight is not mere information. It is an invitation to self-discovery.
Lonergan applied his understanding of understanding to religion, culture, and Christian faith in his final major work, Method in Theology. He also contributed to fields such as education and macroeconomic dynamics. His students have expanded on his insights, resulting in over 250 doctoral dissertations and a 24-volume collected works. Numerous journals, societies, and conferences continue to explore his thought, many centered at Boston College.
(Lonergan photos featured on the gallery page at francais.lonergan.org.)
