Affectivity and religious life: the perspective of the Grammar of Assent

Book section : Chapter

In this chapter, I distinguish three roles that Newman assigns to feelings, concentrating on his account in the Grammar of Assent. Feelings play a role, first of all, in alerting us to the importance of a given subject matter, insofar as it stands out as deserving of attention because of our felt concerns. In this way, feelings provide the starting points for thought. Secondly, feelings have a central place in our intellectual lives insofar as they give us a kind of firsthand acquaintance with the normative properties of an object of thought or experience. Famously, Newman draws on this idea to explain what it is to have a “real image,” as distinct from a “notion,” of God. Finally, feelings are important insofar as they can run ahead of discursive thought, picking out an object that cannot be precisely specified in discursive terms as an object of yearning. We can understand on this basis how Christian practice can be ordered to the eschatological horizon of human life. In these ways, Newman helps us to see how religious faith involves a commitment of the whole person, in their practical, intellectual, and, crucially, affective integrity.

Authors: Wynn, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Routledge
• Host title: John Henry Newman and Contemporary Philosophy
• Pages: 166-191
• Chapter number: 9
• Series: Routledge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Philosophy
• Place of publication: New York
• Publication date: 2025-06-26
• Edition: 1
• DOI: 10.4324/9781032686523-13
• EISBN: 9781032686523
• ISBN: 9781032686547
• Language: English
• Subtype: Chapter