Reading: Foreword to the 1st (Dutch) Edition; Foreword to the 2nd (English) Edition; Translators' Preface, (v - xiv).
In 1935-6 Herman Dooyeweerd had published his three volume Dutch work De Wijsbegeerte der Wetsidee (WdW), whose title is rendered in English by Dooyeweerd as the “Philosophy of the cosmonomic Idea” (see p.93ff). Between 1953 and 1958 this work was translated into English and revised to create his A New Critique of Theoretical Thought (NCTT) which also includes a fourth index volume. This latter title is primarily a reference to the work of Immanuel Kant, and his Critique of Pure Reason in particular. The explanation for both of these titles will become clear as we read through NCTT.
The Foreword to volume 1 contains a setting out of the basic principles of Dooyeweerd’s philosophy, and the author gives us a brief history of his philosophical development. Dooyeweerd tells us that his philosophy breaks with tradition and that he will be introducing novel terminology. Therefore readers should not be put off if they do not understand certain of his terms; their meaning will become clear as we progress through the volumes.
The Religious Root of Creation
Writing in the Foreword to his Dutch edition Dooyeweerd informs us that he was formerly under the influence of Neo-Kantianism, and then Husserl's phenomenology, until his famous kehre:
The great turning point in my thought was marked by the discovery of the religious root of thought itself, whereby a new light was shed on the failure of all attempts, including my own, to bring about an inner synthesis between the Christian faith and a philosophy which is rooted in faith in the self-sufficiency of human reason.
I came to understand the central significance of the "heart", repeatedly proclaimed by Holy Scripture to be the religious root of human existence. V
Dooyeweerd claims that human thought, human existence, and creation in its entirety have a religious root, and that we must undertake a revolution in philosophical thought whereby the whole cosmos is related to this reference point. If philosophical thought declares itself to be self-sufficient it withdraws from the divine revelation in Jesus Christ; theoretical thought cannot be neutral with respect to its religious root.
Sphere Sovereignty
Dooyeweerd bases his philosophy on what he calls the cosmological principle of sphere sovereignty; a notion originating with Abraham Kuyper. Dooyeweerd bases two theories on this principle: a general and a special theory of the modal law-spheres.
The general theory of the law-spheres results from his reflection on the inner structure of the aspects of human experience. The special theory of the law-spheres is a product of his reflection on the problems within various sciences. Dooyeweerd also tells us that he will be introducing a third theory in volume three which deals with the structures of individuality.
With regards to his new philosophy the following plea is made:
I am strongly convinced that for the fruitful working out of this philosophy, in a genuinely scientific manner, there is needed a staff of fellow-labourers who would be in a position independently to think through its basic ideas in the special scientific fields. It is a matter of life and death for this young philosophy that Christian scholars in all fields of science seek to put it to work in their own specialty. vii
Regarding the scientists who, at the time of his writing, had already been endeavouring to develop his philosophy in their own department Dooyeweerd comments:
God grant that this modest group may grow and that many that should be our adherents, but who still resist the Christian Idea of science, may be convinced that the question is not a matter of a ‘system’ (subject to all the faults and errors of human thought) but rather it concerns the foundation and the root of scientific thought as such. viii
Concluding Remarks
In concluding Dooyeweerd stresses that to track down and criticise the religious root of an opponent's thought is not to pass judgement on that person, for that capacity belongs to God alone. Moreover, he tells us that the intention of his philosophy will be misunderstood unless we grasp that in criticising the thought of others we must also criticise ourselves.
Regarding his philosophy he says:
He who will make it his own must try to follow step by step its turns of thought, and penetrate behind the theoretical structure to the religious basic attitude of this whole mode of philosophizing. xi
Summary
Dooyeweerd holds that the cosmos has a religious root regarding which theoretical thought cannot be neutral. Based on the principle of sphere-sovereignty he will offer us three theories: (i) a general theory of the law-spheres with reference to human experience, (ii) a special theory of the law-spheres with reference to special sciences, and (iii) a theory of the structures of individuality.
Topics for Further Study:
Discussion Questions: