Gender and Metaphysics: Judith Butler and Bernard Lonergan in Conversation

Abstract

There has long been a mutual distrust between gender theory and Catholic metaphysics. However, this article argues that at least one significant figure in gender studies, Judith Butler, has been broadly misunderstood by many Catholic thinkers. Bringing Butler into dialogue with Bernard Lonergan, this article proposes to show (1) that Butler’s critiques reveal certain influential strands of Catholic theology as metaphysically untenable, (2) that Lonergan’s metaphysics evades Butler’s critiques, and (3) that there is a complementarity between Butler and Lonergan’s approaches and their aims. The final section of the article offers some foundational principles from Lonergan’s metaphysics for framing ongoing dialogue.