(Extract from ‘Reformation and Scholasticism in Philosophy’ Vol II)
Despite all its efforts, the new reformational movement in philosophy appears to have been forced into isolation in today’s intellectual-spiritual climate. Thus it is compelled to do battle on every front. Indeed, this battle must be waged even with Reformed thinkers as they analyze the spiritual legacy of Abraham Kuyper, the father of the Calvinist revival in the nineteenth century.
The Philosophy of the Law-Idea has broken radically with traditional notions of a “Christian philosophy.” Its demand for a reformation of philosophical thought entails the precise opposite of scholastic attempts at accommodation. Although it is rooted in the Scriptural starting point of the Calvinist reformation, it does not try to base itself on scientific-theological dogmatics. While openly confessing that it is bound to the ground-motive of the divine Word-revelation, it simultaneously wages a relentless battle against every form of philosophical dogmatism that puts all its confidence in philosophical thought and pretends that its religious presuppositions are theoretical axioms.
In this regard the Philosophy of the Law-Idea is the critical exponent of the antidogmatic spirit of our age; but it turns its radical critique of philosophic thought equally against the most recent philosophical currents that reveal the relativistic basis of this spirit. Following Kuyper it champions the sphere-sovereignty of science, while simultaneously denying its independence from faith and religion. It also defends the scientific character of philosophy and therefore remains systematic, since without systematic thought no science is possible. But it combats every closed system, since that would lead to scholastic fossilization and rob philosophical thought of its spiritual dunamis.
It unmasks the philosophical dogmatism that is present in the so-called antidogmatic stance of contemporary philosophy insofar as the latter clings to the immanence standpoint. By virtue of its reformational ground-motive it has begun in its philosophical system a principled battle against the scholastic tradition, even where this comes to expression in Reformed thought. Nevertheless, it recognizes the scientific value of classic scholasticism, found in its often profound philosophical insights. In the same manner it also wishes to do full justice to ancient Greek and modern humanistic philosophy. It steadfastly opposes, however, every attempt at synthesis between the Christian ground-motive and the ground-motives of unscriptural philosophy.
The Philosophy of the Law-Idea also maintains the historical continuity of philosophical thought, but with the express proviso that there is radical discontinuity in the religious ground-motives and in the basic philosophical ideas dominated by them. It nourishes itself upon the whole tradition of philosophical thought and thus fully recognizes its own historical conditioning; but in its basic conception it nevertheless sets itself against that philosophical tradition. In its philosophical view of temporal reality it is fully dynamic, since it looks for the firm ground of this reality beyond time and does not ascribe self-contained existence to the creaturely realm. Rather, it sees the entire temporal cosmos involved in a process of disclosure which expresses the restless, origin-directed, tendency towards the consummation of all things. In all this movement, however, the Philosophy of the Law-Idea simultaneously recognizes the presence of constant creational structures. It rejects rationalism and intellectualism, but stands equally opposed to irrationalism and voluntarism.
On first consideration, the position of the Philosophy of the Law-Idea might appear to be paradoxical on many of these points. Measured by traditional yardsticks it is out of step and elusive. In order to bring its true meaning to light, I will first have to clear up a series of misconceptions that tradition has attached to the idea of a Christian philosophy.
(Extract from ‘Reformation and Scholasticism in Philosophy’ Vol II by
Herman Dooyeweerd, Paideia Press, 2013, pp 26, 27)
FREE DOWNLOAD of this book HERE
