Early Works on Theological Method 1

Book excerpt: Volumes 22 and 23 in the Collected Works document many of Bernard Lonergan's lectures and seminars on theological method, and in so doing trace the evolution of his thought between the publication of Insight and the completion of Method in Theology. Volume 22 contains a record of his English lectures on method delivered at institutes in 1962 (Regis College, Toronto), in 1964 (Georgetown University), and in 1968 (Boston College), while volume 23 is devoted to his Latin courses on method offered at the Gregorian University between 1958 and 1962. This is the most `interactive' volume in the series published to date. Additional digital text and audio source materials are available online at www.bernardlonergan.com. The present volume, even when read on its own, sketches an outline of the development of Lonergan's ideas on such key notions as horizon, conversion, and meaning, as well as the movement from the division of theology into positive, dogmatic, and systematic (parts 1 and 2), to the division in terms of operational or functional specialization (part 3). Together these materials further our understanding of critical theological concepts and their emergence within an important and complex period in Lonergan's development.