Philosophical Encounters: Lonergan and the Analytical Tradition (review)

The author sounds the resonances and counterpoints between the intentionality analysis of Canadian philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan (1904–84) and the philosophical development that emerges from Cartesian rationalism, traces through modern empiricism and idealism, and enlivens the twentieth-century exchange among the major figures of analytical philosophy such as Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) and Richard Rorty (1931– ). Joseph Fitzpatrick combines an accessible portrayal of Lonergan's cognitional theory with synthetic insights into the emergence of the now-dominant analytical tradition to clear a space for fruitful exchange on topics as unlikely as consciousness, interiority, ethical judgment, and the relation of the public and private characters of knowing. He finds the genius of his approach in patient constructive reading of diverse texts, a generous but still careful reading that neither understates differences nor hastens to confrontation.

The author's reading of Wittgenstein demonstrates the broad value of his constructive approach. Rather than focusing on the popularly announced discontinuity between Wittgenstein's youthful Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and mature Philosophical Investigations, Fitzpatrick traces the enduring influence of Russell's analysis of propositions on his most famous student's development. Although the early Wittgenstein reverses the priority that Russell assigns to empirical observation over logic and the later Wittgenstein challenges his mentor's use of empirical psychology in philosophical reasoning, Fitzpatrick observes that the language-games and life-forms of the Investigations remain indebted to the implicit definitions of analytical reasoning. Recalling the importance of implicit definitions in Lonergan's intentionality analysis, Fitzpatrick explores Wittgenstein's influence on the Canadian and offers insight into the significance of Lonergan's methodological return to empirical evidence in the critical evaluation of implicitly defined hypotheses. Lonergan gathers, appreciates, and reconciles contributions from both teacher and student. Fitzpatrick builds on this point of contact as he continues to bridge the chasm between the analytical tradition and Lonergan's distinctive approach to intentionality analysis.

Readers familiar with Lonergan's life corpus will notice that Fitzpatrick approaches him through his earlier works and does not emphasize the dispositive influence of horizon and religious experience, which begin to shape Lonergan's thinking more actively in Method in Theology and his other later writings. Although highlighting these influences could lead analytical interpreters to locate Lonergan within the continental tradition, one might ask whether Fitzpatrick has embarked on a project that invites further investment. In this volume he has drawn his reader's attention to a synthetic thinker who defies simple categorization and a style of reading that clears space for unexpected exchange. Perhaps a future volume will build on these resources to advance a dialogue that promises important returns.