Self-introduction from a student

[Franklin Liu]

Hello all,

Hope you are doing well. I've been lurking on this forum for some time so I thought it was high time to introduce myself.

My name is Franklin Liu, and I'm a freshman at Stanford. I found out about this forum - and Lonergan - via Dr. Skipper on Substack. I was initially interested in Lonergan because of his work in economics (something I've been wondering about is what a 'Christian economics' would mean), but now I'm interested in studying his larger corpus of work and seeing how it relates to my intellectual interests. Among them are: complexity theory, cybernetics, computational social sciences, and radical politics. I'm especially interested in Method in Theology. 

Currently my plan is to read Fr Frederick Crowe's short book on him and his Collection, and then build up from there. Any other tips for getting started with his work would be appreciated.

I look forward to discussing and learning from you all!

Franklin

[Doug Mounce]

Welcome aboard Franklin!  Is there any particular part of economics that you want to study?  I hope you can find a professor or two willing to consider Lonergan's ideas.

I don't study Lonergan's economics as much as others.  I think if you have some grasp of how to work with differential equations then you could make a scholarly contribution. 

Phil McShane was the real champion of Lonergan's economics, with his constant refrain, "there are two flows!". There's a lot of stuff on his website, but you might start with Terrance Quinn's Anatomy of Economic Activity:There are Two Main Flows, January 2019, American Review of Political Economy 13(1) which has the basic diagrams from Lonergan's work.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354441601_Anatomy_of_Economic_Activity_There_are_Two_Main_Flows#fullTextFileContent

PS - my preference for an approach to understanding economics comes from Thurman Arnold, The Symbols of Government that deals with our problematic theories of economics, policing and jurisprudence.  It's available on the Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.34165/mode/2up

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https://staff.washington.edu/mounce/

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[David Bibby]

Hi Franklin,

Welcome to the forum! It's always good to hear new voices.

Those are some fascinating topics you are interested in, and your areas of interest - complexity theory, cybernetics, computational social science, and radical politics - promise rich conversations here. Might I ask what "radical politics" means for you?

I’ve been reading Lonergan’s For a New Political Economy recently, and I’m struck by how radical it still feels in its analysis of the economic process. Lonergan argues that genuine freedom depends on understanding how the economic machine actually works: "For either men learn rules to guide them individually in the use of the economic machine, or else they surrender their liberty to be ruled along with the machine by a central planning board." (CW21, 1998, section 7.1, page 110)

I’m also intrigued by the broader question of what a Christian economics might involve. Lonergan’s methodological works (Insight, Method in Theology) encourage us to develop our own understanding through questions, and one question that emerges for me is: To what extent are the religious and economic spheres independent, and to what extent do they overlap in practice? It immediately opens deeper questions about human nature and the limits of our practical reason.  

Good luck with your studies, and I hope you find Lonergan's works stimulating and helpful. Looking forward to hearing more about your interests and perspective.

Best wishes,

David