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Brian J. Himes, Ph.D.

Manresa Fellow
Center for Ignatian Service

Courses Taught

SERV 1000

Education

  • Ph.D., 2022, Boston College, Systematic Theology, Minor Area: Theological Ethics 
  • M.T.S., 2012, Boston College School of Theology & Ministry, Concentration: Systematic Theology 
  • B.A., 2010, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI, summa cum laude, Majors: Theology & Psychology

Research Interests

  • Ignatian Spirituality (whole person formation, reflection-in-action, value/vocation discernment)
  • Balancing/Integrating the Mind and the Heart, Philosophically and Ethically (in connection with the neuroscience of right/left brain functional asymmetry, and trauma studies)
  • Spirituality as a Practical, Inclusive Quest for Meaning (equally open to theists and non-theists)
Other ongoing projects include articles on the phenomenology of racism, philosophy of mind, C.L. Stevenson on emotive and cognitive meaning, and the theology of grace.
 
My scholarly research began with the theology of grace in Thomas Aquinas and Bernard Lonergan (with the question of how we can reasonably understand God’s action in human beings), extended to the intersection of metaphysics and hermeneutics (how the ancient question of ‘being’ connects with the modern questions of meaning, empirical culture, and authenticity), focused in on the phenomenology of feelings, value, and love, esp. in Max Scheler (following philosophical clues to identify and propose solutions to major problems/hurdles in the theology of love, e.g., the phenomenological vagueness of the theology/philosophy of love, and the lack of resources with which to articulate an account of love-as-knowledge that is coherent theoretically and functions in concrete interpersonal and intercultural contexts). A general current goal is to integrate the clarity and explanatory power of Lonergan’s philosophy of cognition, Scheler’s attentive and profound value personalism, with the communicative efficacy of Ignatian spirituality.
 
This scholarly research has enabled a teaching focus that operates from the depth of my Christian, Catholic tradition, is genuinely dialogical with persons of other faiths and Nones in a journey of mutual learning, and adopts/transposes theological/spiritual content so that it is as practical as possible for everyday living.
 
Dissertation Title: “Max Scheler on Love and Human Dignity: The Wertkern [Core of Value] as Resolving the Aporia of Dialogical and Metaphysical Personalism on the Knowledge of Persons”
 
For more information, visit https://slu.academia.edu/BrianHimes

Publications and Media Placements

Upcoming Presentation: “Ignatian Spirituality for Service as Meeting the Post-Pandemic Need for Meaningful Connection through a Reflective Praxis Balancing Mind and Heart,” College Theology Society, University of Dayton, May-June 2025
 
Presentation: “Lonergan’s Notion of History as Refined by Scheler’s Value Personalism,” at the West Coast Methods Institute (a Lonergan studies conference), Gonzaga University, April 2024
 
Invited Book Chapter: “Transcending Kantian Intuition Through Value-ception & Cognition: The Complementary Legacies of Scheler and Bernard Lonergan,” in The Legacy of Max Scheler, ed. Eric Mohr, St. Vincent’s College, PA, & J. Edward Hackett, Southern University and A&M College, LA (Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, expected publication 2025).
 
Invited Book Review of The Three Dynamisms of Faith: Searching for Meaning, Fulfillment & Truth, by Louis Roy, OP, in The Lonergan Review, Vol. 10 (2019), pp. 154–157.
 
Peer-Reviewed Journal Article: “Lonergan’s Position on the Natural Desire to See God and Aquinas’ Metaphysical Theology of Creation and Participation,” in The Heythrop Journal 54, no. 5 (September 2013): pp. 767–783.

Honors and Awards

Saint Louis University Core Curricular Innovation Fellow (Project: develop existing course into writing intensive course)

Professional Organizations and Associations

College Theology Society
Boston College Lonergan Workshop (Conference)
West Coast Methods Institute (WCMI—a Lonergan studies conference, previously hosted by
Loyola Marymount University; since 2023 through Gonzaga University)
Max Scheler Society of North America