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Frederick G. Lawrence is the authoritative interpreter of the work of Bernard Lonergan and an incisive reader of twentieth-century continental philosophy and hermeneutics.The Fragility of Consciousness is the first published collection of his essays and contains several of his best known writings as well as unpublished work. The essays in this volume exhibit a long interdisciplinary engagement with the relationship between faith and reason in the context of the crisis of culture that has marked twentieth- and twenty-first century thought and practice. Frederick G. Lawrence, with his profound and generous commitment to the intellectual life of the church, has produced a body of work that engages with Heidegger, Gadamer, Habermas, Ricoeur, Strauss, Voegelin, and Benedict XVI among others. These essays also explore various themes such as the role of religion in a secular age, political theology, economics, neo-Thomism, Christology, and much more. In an age marked by social, cultural, political, and ecclesial fragmentation, Lawrence models a more generous way – one that prioritizes friendship, conversation, and understanding above all else.
This remarkable collection of essays offers an insight into Western philosophical and theological thought that achieves a rare combination of depth and breadth. One cannot doubt that the author has an incredible talent for generously understanding his interlocutors. And yet one of his most critical moments is qualified by the genuine humility that he hopes his critique is not the case, but cannot understand his interlocutor otherwise. While portraying the essays as humble commentary garnered from 'listening in' on the Western conversation, Lawrence provides an astounding original take on the relationship between the conversational structure of the human subject, our political situations (informed by language), and our relationship to the absolute Other. Though he grounds himself in the best minds of the Western (mainly Catholic) tradition, the author moves freely among often acerbic postmodern discourses.His humble genius transforms his hermeneutical theory into concrete lived praxis which he demonstrates throughout the text. Lawrence is clear that he considers his interlocutors to be friends, especially those he knew well in real life - particularly Hans-Georg Gadamer and Bernard Lonergan, SJ. Without sacrificing the ability to think freely and judge critically, Lawrence takes pains to give fair renditions to quite diverse thinkers, even as he brings them together in a remarkably creative discourse.In spite of these comforts, however, this book is not for the fainthearted. The author covers an immense amount of material and expects his reader to be prepared to reach up to the level of his discourse. For those who are prepared, or who dare to become more prepared, I recommend this thinker and this collection of his essays as highly as I can. Lawrence's is a voice of authentic friendship and intellectual seriousness much needed in a fragile world.
