Naziv kolegija (na engleskom jeziku): Ethics – seminar: Bernard Lonergan’s Cognitional Heuristic and Ethics – From Questions to Decisions

Naziv kolegija (na hrvatskom jeziku): Etika – seminar: Kognitivna heuristika i etika Bernarda Lonergana – od pitanja do odluka

Nositelj: prof. dr. sc. Hrvoje Jurić

Izvoditelj: izv. prof. dr. sc. Michael George (vanjski suradnik)

Status kolegija: izborni

Trajanje kolegija: 1 semestar, 2 sata tjedno

ECTS bodovi: 3 boda

Jezik nastave: engleski

Oblik nastave: seminar

Metode rada: uvodna predavanja, rad na tekstovima i rasprave

Uvjeti pristupa: nema uvjeta pristupa

Obveze studenata: redovito pohađanje nastave, sudjelovanje u raspravama, seminarski rad, home exam

Način praćenja kvalitete i uspješnosti izvedbe predmeta: studentska evaluacija, evaluacija studentskog angažmana u seminaru

Cilj kolegija:

The Canadian philosopher and theologian, Bernard Lonergan (1904–1984), is most widely known and regarded for his two major theoretical works, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding and Method in Theology. In these two books Lonergan develops an approach to human process that seeks to identify the critical elements that underlie cognitional process and a corresponding division of intellectual methodology between historical considerations and the application of confirmed insights that if implemented would result in a dynamic cycle of cumulatively constructive results effecting the possibility of beginning to direct history intentionally. This project falls within the scope of philosophical critical realism and utilizes intentionality analysis in identifying patterns of (sets of) cognitional operations. For the purposes of this seminar we will focus on how ethics is fundamentally about the process of intentional decision making (i.e. what should I/we do?) and that arriving at this point is the result of adequately and comprehensively identifying and recognizing the emergence of the (appropriate) question, the various procedures involved in working out the (potential) solution to said question, and the judgment that either results in the verification or rejection of the proposed answer. Fundamentally, Lonergan posits that the beginning of ethics requires a sufficiently grounded understanding of the historical context of any given question or problem before the ethical decision making has the chance of providing a successful outcome. As a complete grasp of Lonergan’s cognitional heuristic is not feasible within the time limits of the seminar, we will propose to provide a brief outline of the main features of Lonergan’s philosophical project, including an anthropological overview/perspective, the significance of history, how his arguments are structured, how evidence is considered, the operative biases that preclude or obstruct the emergence of relevant insights, the centrality of the insight, and the implications of such for understanding and ethics, the significance of interpretation (and the accompanying issues and dilemmas) that does affect the communication and appropriation of insights, and an overview of how consciousness is applied to the range of human issues. This extended introduction would take up approximately half of the seminar and would be primarily focussed on the ideas and texts contained in Insight. The second half of the seminar would address Lonergan’s proposed division of intellectual projects (or functional specialties) as it pertains to the project of ethics, grounded in the chapters concerning the human good, and meaning, the relevant texts of which are to be found in Method in Theology. In addition, as specific topics are being addressed additional texts pertinent to the issues at hand can be provided, e.g. for considering the anthropological perspectives that undergird Lonergan’s intellectual projects the essay “The Subject” in A Second Collection is both thought provoking and philosophically challenging. We believe that the students who might be interested in this seminar would benefit from an approach that differs in perspective from the more traditional ethical models while also emphasizing the integral role of history and historical consciousness in attempting to resolve any ethical quandaries. In addition, the seminar could serve as an introduction to some of the perspectives of critical realism and how this affects the study of philosophy.

Sadržaj kolegija:

1. Introduction to Bernard Lonergan: Outline of the Cognitional Heuristic
2. Introduction to Bernard Lonergan: The Cognitional Heuristic and Ethics
3. Math, Science, Space/Time and Empirical Method: Insight (Chapters 1–5)
4. Biases and the Resistance to Insight: Insight (Chapters 6–7)
5. Emergent Probability, Judgment, Facts and Insights: Insight (Chapters 8–10)
6. Self-affirmation and Objectivity: Insight (Chapters 11–13)
7. Metaphysics: Insight (Chapters 14–17)
8. The Possibility of Ethics: Insight (Chapter 18)
9. Method and the Human Good: Method in Theology (Chapters 1–2)
10. Meaning: Method in Theology (Chapter 3)
11. Functional Specialties: Method in Theology (Chapter 5)
12. History and Dialectics: Method in Theology (Chapters 6–10)
13. Foundations, Applications, Communication: Method in Theology (Chapters 11–14)
14. The New Context, Dialectic and Foundations of Ethics: Method in Theology (Appendices 1–2)
15. Overview and Conclusion

Literatura:

Primary Texts: The complete works of Bernard Lonergan have been revised, edited and published by the University of Toronto Press which is comprised of 25 separate volumes. The texts listed below could be augmented or supplemented as required:

• Lonergan, Bernard J. F., Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, Vol. 3, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding. 5^th, rev. and aug. First ed. (1957). Edited by Frederick E. Crowe and Robert M. Doran. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992).
• Lonergan, Bernard J. F., Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, Vol. 14, Method in Theology. 2^nd, rev. and aug. First ed. (1972). Edited by Robert M. Doran and John D. Dadosky. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017).
• Lonergan, Bernard J. F., Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, Vol. 4, Collection. 2^nd, rev. and aug. First ed. (1967). Edited by Frederick E. Crowe and Robert M. Doran. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988).
• Lonergan, Bernard J. F., Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, Vol. 13, A Second Collection. 2^nd, rev. and aug. First ed. (1974). Edited by Robert M. Doran and John D. Dadosky. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016).
• Lonergan, Bernard J. F., Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan, Vol. 16, A Third Collection. 2^nd, rev. and aug. First ed. (1985). Edited by Robert M. Doran and John D. Dadosky. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017).

Selected Secondary Texts: The texts listed here are representative of the vast array of books on Lonergan but each of these has specific value to some of the foci that have been indicated in the seminar proposal:

• Barden, Garret and Philip McShane, Towards Self- Meaning. (New York: Herder and Herder, 1969).
• Coelho, Ivo, Hermeneutics & Method: The ‘Universal Viewpoint’ in Bernard Lonergan. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012).
• Crowe, Frederick E., Appropriating the Lonergan Idea. Edited by Michael Vertin. (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1989).
• Liddy, Richard M., Startling Strangeness: Reading Lonergan’s Insight. (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2007).
• McShane, Philip, Randomness, Statistics and Emergence. (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1970). [Philip McShane has written upward of 20+ books on different aspects of Lonergan’s work and its implications for individuals and their social projects. He has also written a number of extended series of essays, most of which are available online at https://philipmcshane.org.]
• Melchin, Kenneth R., History, Ethics and Emergent Probability: Ethics, Society and History in the Work of Bernard Lonergan. (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1987).
• Melchin, Kenneth R., Living with Other People: An Introduction to Christian Ethics based on Bernard Lonergan. (Ottawa: Novalis Press, 1998).
• Shute, Michael, Lonergan’s Early Economic Research: Texts and Commentary. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010).