Meszaros, Andrew
(2015)
Newman and First Principles: The Noetic Dimension of the Illative Sense.
Heythrop Journal, 56.
pp. 1-13.
ISSN 0018-1196
Abstract
John Henry Newman’s reflections on first principles aim to account for the insurmountable differences
between people’s worldviews.1 The emphasis Newman puts on first principles cannot
be overstated. Newman argues for the ultimately determinative role that they play in any dispute.
There can be little doubt that Newman was familiar with Aristotle’s statement from the
Nicomachean Ethics that ‘It is thought. . .that the starting-point or principle is more than half the
whole matter.’2 In Newman’s words, these ‘first elements of thought’ are ‘half the battle’.3
Since first principles are so central to the thought of Newman, much has been written on this
topic, not only to elucidate Newman’s thoughts on the matter, but also to make sense of the
term’s development in Newman’s corpus.4 This article will summarize some of the main points
of the latest contributors with special attention to the work of Rik Achten.5 While his work has
much to commend for itself, I will criticize one aspect of it while offering a close reading of relevant
passages from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics in order to shed light on the noetic aspect
of the Illative Sense in its acquisition of first principles.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
John Henry Newman; First Principles; Noetic Dimension; Illative Sense; worldview; |
| Academic Unit: |
St Patrick's College, Maynooth > Faculty of Theology |
| Item ID: |
8359 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1111/heyj.12259 |
| Depositing User: |
Andrew Meszaros
|
| Date Deposited: |
22 Jun 2017 08:58 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Heythrop Journal |
| Publisher: |
Wiley |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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