Presentation: Thoughts on the emergence of a final relevant question to guide educating in friendship

Presenter: Geoff Brodie, PhD student at University of Notre Dame Australia

This presentation proposes a democratic role for education when the final relevant question for educators is, “Will I cooperate with God’s solution to evil?” This question, emerging from the moving viewpoint of self-appropriation proposed by Bernard Lonergan SJ, grants access to the wisdom grounded in the intimate union of freedom and responsibility. Love supports a vulnerable democracy. When the teacher answers this final relevant question with “yes,” he or she cooperates with the faith, hope, and charity that are the harmonious continuation of knowing, choosing, and acting. Through a case study example, this presentation welcomes examination of the question’s capacity to orientate harmoniously, without eroding human freedom, the student’s unrestricted desire to know with, first, the desire for a valued and valuable unity in all human inquiry, and secondly, to inspire attentive, intelligent, reasonable, responsible, and loving participation in one’s community.

Geoffrey Brodie is Assistant Principal (Faith & Identity) at St Patrick’s College, Ballarat. He is the current holder of the Peter Faber Travelling Fellowship for Lonergan Studies for emerging Australian Lonergan scholars and is pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Notre Dame, Australia. Geoff is a long-standing member of the St Patrick’s community, as a staff member and parent. He has previously held the positions of Director of Mission and Head of Humanities. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, a Graduate Diploma of Education, a Master of Arts (Theological Studies) and a Master of Philosophy.

Schedule: 40 minute presentation followed by 30 minutes of questions and discussion

Register at: https://lonergan.org.au/registration-2026-march/