Robert D. Knudsen's Calvinistic Philosophy lectures (Disks 15)

This is a continuation of the class lectures on Calvinistic Philosophy given by Robert D. Knudsen at Westminster Theological Seminary.  As before, the information in the audio recordings have not been validated for accuracy (use at your own risk).

Vollenhoven, part 9 Dooyeweerd part 1 (disk 15)

If you do not observe the boundary in God’s creation you have what happens you have antinomies toward the law.  The only way to eliminate it is to give proper attention to the boundary.

MY NOTE: Knudsen talks about the law spheres here but does not list them all on the audio.  The following I pulled from L. Kalsbeek’s Contours of a Christian Philosophy (ISBN: 0-7734-6950-8) page 40-41

1.     Arithmetic

2.     Spatial

3.     Kinematic

4.     Physical

5.     Botic

6.     Sensitive

7.     Analytic

8.     Historical

9.     Lingual

10.  Social

11.  Economic

12.  Aesthetic

13.  Juridical

14.  Ethical

15.  Pistic

Arithmetic to Analytic are the non-normative above the Analytic are normative.

There is here an expression of sphere sovereignty in the aspects.  If we look at the various aspects they have fundamental irreducible nuclei (kernel) of meaning.  This nucleus is not logical in character, they resist logical analysis.  Each one from its own perspective, there is a universality in its own sphere, it reflects its own aspect of the entire cosmos.  So there are anticipating and retrocipating moments.  In the biotic you have a nucleus of mean and clustered around it are subsiderary moments of meaning in either direction.  We attempt to get certain concepts and what happens we find that we obtain general logical concepts.  The question comes how do we distinguish those from something else, Dooyeweerd says that as soon as we get one of these concepts we discover that it is analogical in character (multivocality in character).  The multivocality does not arise because the meaning has not been clarified in the logical analysis, but because it goes beyond its basic sense.  In each one of these aspects you have the nuclei of meaning, the analogies, and the law side and subject side (subject and object).

This occurs against the background that there is a fundamental character of the reality as meaning, all reality is meaning.  Not in the sense of symbolic meaning, it is the sense that to express the self in sufficiency of the temporal world or the lack of self-sufficiency of the temporal world with respect to its origin.

As we have God speaking to our hearts and our lives radiating out toward the world at the same time there is this reflection on ourselves and everything we do.  There is this lack of self-sufficency that we are dependent upon the cosmos that then however every part of that cosmos reflects every part of that creator.  We are constantly reflecting upon our own lives and our covenant responsibility before God.

The meaning character of all reality is set up against the idea of substance.  Substance is self-sufficent to itself.  Dooyeweerd would say God is only self-sufficent.  The cosmos is meaning in all of its part.  There is nothing in the cosmos that is isolated from man’s being.

Dooyeweerd’s move toward a formalization of the Transcendental Critique.

Dooyeweerd attempted to find the relevancy of his Calvinistic world and life view toward the science of statecraft.  You cannot simply lift theoretical concepts directly from the scriptures.  Dooyeweerd had the idea that theory has its own identity and structure over against naïve experience.  All theory has to be conformable toward God’s word at its root.  You have to spiral down into your field to find the religious foundation (the theoretical foundation of your field).  Getting down to the presuppositions.

One can see how the transcendental thrust is already there.  Given your theorizing, you cannot reduce it to something else, there is already this transcendental reflection on what is already at work in it.

Dooyeweerd held that all developments of theoretical concepts by an idea of law, therefore he gave his philosophy the name the philosophy of law-idea (Wijsbegeerte der Wetsidee or WdW).

The law idea was regarded by Dooyeweerd as an instrument to relate our (or link) our theoretical thinking and our worldview commitment.  This law idea is of a law order which given any experience is already there.  That already there idea is important because you do anything, it is already there and you have to reflect transcendentally.

This order of law is meaning.  It has no being of itself but out and to its origin.  There is this reflecting back (Romans 11:36: “For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever.  Amen.” (ESV)).  This law idea reflects back on God as the origin of meaning and manifests its dependency upon God and his revelation that centers in Jesus Christ.

The Law is not conceived of on the set of theoretical axioms from which you could deduce things or that would be norms or imposed a priori upon experience.  Nor are they on the order of generalities the result of theoretical abstractions.  Every theoretical axiom, each one must be understood as revealing this law order.  This order is not that of a theory based on logical or logos world order.

The original form the transcendental critique.

No conception of any theory is neutral.  It is impelled by an idea of cosmic coherence and the origin of meaning.  This idea is not one derived from theoretical thought it is of religious origin and will determine the direction of the thought.  Therefore given any theoretical conceptualization it is necessary to reflect upon the idea impelling it and on the religious content of the idea.