John Henry Newman, Influencer

The example of John Henry Newman—the newest Doctor of the Church—offers hope for our overwhelmed and weary digital world. When the announcement came that Newman would be the thirty-eighth Doctor of the Church, I was preparing a course based on his work, titled The Ethics of Influence.

My students at Notre Dame will learn that Newman’s life can soothe the challenges of today’s digital age. He described himself as a “controversialist” and held a then-radical belief that the spreading of truth depends on “personal influence.”

The course is designed to juxtapose Newman’s lifelong pursuit of understanding personal influence with modern influence experts who offer persuasion techniques. Additionally, it incorporates research on the decline of face-to-face social interactions and the rise of online influencers and parasocial, or one-sided, relationships.

“Newman was a self-described ‘controversialist,’ and he held the view—radical at the time—that the spread of truth in our world depends on ‘personal influence.’”

“I imagined Newman as an unlikely Virgil, guiding students through the inferno that is the contemporary information ecosystem—where impersonal technologies masquerade as miracle cures for what they, in fact, tend to exacerbate: loneliness, lack of connection, loss of intimacy.”

Newman emerges as a guiding figure amid today’s complex digital landscape, where technology often deepens isolation despite promises of connection.

Author's summary: John Henry Newman’s insights on personal influence offer a timely perspective to navigate the isolating effects of digital technology and the rise of one-sided online relationships.

Commonweal Magazine — 2025-11-02

John Henry Newman, Influencer

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