The Lonergan Reader, Part 1, Chapter 17: Self-Appropriation

"Insight may be described as a set of exercises in which, it is hoped, one attains self-appropriation" (340-341).

Generally, it is easier to do things than explain how to do them.

"First, then, seeking knowledge is seeking an unknown" (341).

"Now this seeking of knowledge is a special kind of tendency. ... It is not merely a tendency towards an object, it is a conscious tendency. But in seeking knowledge, not only do we tend towards it, not only do we do so consciously, but we also do so intelligently. Moreover, we do so critically; we examine what we have been given and wonder if it is right, and we test it and control it" (342).

"Seeking knowledge may be not only conscious, intelligent, and rational, but also deliberate. Scientists seek knowledge, aim at something, seek an unknown, and yet they go about it methodically. They have a series of well-defined steps which they take" (342).

There is a combination of knowledge and ignorance in seeking knowledge.

Aristotle states that all men by nature desire to know, so there is a "natural tendency, a natural desire to know" (342).

Lonergan states that there are different kinds of habits: infused (supernatural faith, hope, and Love), acquired habits (learning to play the violin), and "tendencies with which we start out and which we must have in order to start" (342-343). This tendency to start is a tendency towards the ideal. So, Lonergan says "The pursuit of knowledge, then, is the pursuit of an unknown, and the possibility of that pursuit is the existence of an ideal" (343).

Lonergan's second point is that this "ideal is not conceptually explicit. It becomes explicit only through the pursuit of knowledge" (343).

"The trick in self-appropriation is to move one step backwards, to move into the subject as intelligent - asking questions; as having insights - being able to form concepts; as weighing the evidence - being able to judge" (351-352).

Lonergan gives different definitions for the term, "presence". First, "you can say that chairs are present in the room, but you cannot say that the chairs are present to the room or that the room is present to the chairs. ... Second, sense of 'presence': being present to someone. It has a meaning with regard to animals. A dog walks along the street, sees another dog on the other side, and crosses over. The other dog is present to him, but not like the chairs are present in the room. Here we have presence to someone. ... There is a third sense of presence: you could not be present to me unless I was somehow present to myself" (352). Self-appropriation is the third type of presence.

It is not looking within oneself. It is not introspection.

Lonergan states there are different levels for the third type of presence. A simple presence is in "empirical consciousness". The next level is intelligent consciousness. You notice if your students are getting it by their expressions on their face. The third level, rational consciousness is when you "are present to yourself" (353). The fourth level is rational self-consciousness is when you ask yourself if you are doing right or wrong.

Lonergan writes about the value of self-appropriation: "it provides one with an ultimate basis of reference in terms of which one can proceed to deal satisfactorily with other questions" (359).