Community Climbing: Toward Functional Collaboration

Authors

  • Terry Quinn Middle Tennessee Sate University

Keywords:

Functional specialization, division of labor, progress, human good.

Abstract

A main purpose of this article is to draw attention to Lonergan’s discovery, functional specialization. Lonergan’s result was first presented in dense summary fashion, in a 20 page 1969 article "Functional Specialization in Theology." This later became the 20 page Chapter 5 of his 1970 book Method in Theology. While Lonergan’s discovery originally was communicated to theologians, it is a result for all disciplines, “a method, ..., for integrating theology with scholarly and scientific studies ... for promoting good and undoing evil both in the church and in human society generally” (Method in Theology). The present article is for a general audience and includes footnotes to follow-up material as well as a copy of Lonergan’s 1965 discovery page.

Author Biography

Terry Quinn, Middle Tennessee Sate University

Terry Quinn’s Ph.D. was in C*-algebras (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada, 1992). He then did three years of post-doctoral work in Ireland (Trinity College, 1992–93; University College Cork, 1993–95). In the USA he has held positions at Texas A&M International University (1995–2001) and Ohio University Southern (2001–2006). Since 2006 he has been professor of mathematical sciences at Middle Tennessee State University, where he also served as Chair (2006–2009). He has publications in the mathematical sciences, education, and the philosophy of science. Quinn’s work has been increasingly focused on the achievements of Bernard Lonergan, especially Lonergan’s discovery of functional specialties. Much of Quinn’s work is now directed toward the possibility of functional collaboration.

 

 

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Published

2015-07-09

Issue

Vol. 8 (2015): Functional Collaboration

Section

Articles