Newman, Lonergan, and the Dialectic of Epistemology II

Part I of this two-part article was devoted principally to providing an overview of the investigations into human reasoning and assent offered by Cardinal Newman in his celebrated work of 1870, Grammar of Assent. My intention was also to observe ideas and ways of analysis in the book which can with greater or less confidence be identified as having influenced Bernard Lonergan’s approach to cognitional, intelligent, reasonable, and responsible consciousness. In this, Part II of my article, the primary aim is to offer an evaluation of the philosophical positions argued for by Newman in Grammar, drawing upon Lonergan’s work. That evaluation concludes with a discussion of the insights Lonergan provides us with concerning how we may understand the place of Newman’s contribution within the overall development of philosophy.