A through introduction to the thought of Bernard Lonergan would occupy several volumes. Moreover, such a work cannot be written for a number of years, since many of Lonergan’s writings are as yet unpublished. Important notes and fragments are still to be made available – and in some instances still to be deciphered – and some of his lectures have yet to be edited from tape into a publishable from. But already it is clear that the work of few, if any other, twentieth-century thinkers has a comparable range of implications for various fields, or a comparable importance for the future of thought, and indeed of human living. It can reasonably be argued that Lonergan penetrates more directly and swiftly to the heart of the matter than do most, if any other, contemporary figures.
These essays explore in detail the contribution that he made to the solution of various pressing questions, especially in theology. The present volume is intended to meet the need for an interim introduction to Lonergan’s work that would show the central importance of the invitation to transformation and self-appropriation that is the unifying theme throughout his work.