Lonergan's early development in ethics: a study of archives notes on general ethics (a metaphysics of customs)

Abstract

In 1940, Bernard Lonergan was forced to flee Rome quickly. He took a few pages of an essay on Newman, seven essays and sketches later found in File 713, a set of handwritten notes on his reading of Kant’s Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Customs, and a set of hand written sketches titled “General Ethic [Metaphysics of Customs].” These sketches have gone relatively untouched within the body of existing scholarship on Lonergan. First, this project establishes the significance of these sketches, dates their composition, and discusses a context for understanding their relevance. Secondly, using the functional specialization of research, it provides preliminary research notes that will aid in a future interpretation of the text. Thirdly, it establishes the sketches as an early outline of Lonergan’s understanding of the metaphysic of ethics found in chapter 18 of Insight. The project highlights connections between the sketches and Lonergan’s thoughts on Kant, the dialectic of history, and Ethics.