There are a number of studies exploring the philosophical influences upon the development of personalism. However, while the decisive role of Saint Thomas Aquinas is frequently cited by Catholic writers, the various citations made to Saint John Henry Newman by a number of Boston Personalists has largely gone unnoticed. In a similar vein, while Newman commentators frequently compare his thought with this tradition, little or no attempt has been made to document this connection. This paper explores the references made to Newman by figures such as Borden Parker Bowne (1847–1910), Edgar Sheffield Brightman (1884–1953), Francis J. McConnell (1871–1953), George Albert Coe (1861–1951), and Ralph T. Flewelling (1871–1960) in order to explore whether or not the themes common to these writers possess a deeper connection.
REFERENCES
Borden Parker Bowne, ‘Cardinal Newman and Science,’ Independent (1890), 1401- 1402.
George Albert Coe, The Religion of a Mature Mind (Chicago, IL.: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1902)
Ralph T. Flewelling, Winds of Hiroshima (New York: Bookman Associates, 1956)
Francis J McConnell, The Increase of Faith: Some Present-Day Aids to Belief (New York: Eaton & Mains, 1912)
Francis J McConnell, Public Opinion and Theology (Nashville, TN.: Abingdon Press, 1920)
Daniel Pratt Morris-Chapman, Newman in the Story of Philosophy: The Philosophical Legacy of John Henry Newman (Eugene, OR.: Pickwick, 2021)
Daniel Pratt Morris-Chapman, “The Philosophical Legacy of John Henry Newman: A Neglected Chapter in Newman Research,” New Blackfriars 98 (2017), 722-750
Joining the Dots: Exploring the connections between Saint John Henry Newman and the Boston Personalists
There are a number of studies exploring the philosophical influences upon the development of personalism. However, while the decisive role of Saint Thomas Aquinas is frequently cited by Catholic writers, the various citations made to Saint John Henry Newman by a number of Boston Personalists has largely gone unnoticed. In a similar vein, while Newman commentators frequently compare his thought with this tradition, little or no attempt has been made to document this connection. This paper explores the references made to Newman by figures such as Borden Parker Bowne (1847–1910), Edgar Sheffield Brightman (1884–1953), Francis J. McConnell (1871–1953), George Albert Coe (1861–1951), and Ralph T. Flewelling (1871–1960) in order to explore whether or not the themes common to these writers possess a deeper connection.