About three years ago, I became a dog owner for the first time. We have a small, fluffy creature who scampers around the house and garden, eats whatever she’s allowed to, and sometimes gets away with snoozing on sofas and sleeping on our bed. Although I had misgivings about taking Read more
We now come to the conclusion of our series on Herman Dooyeweerd’s In the Twilight of Western Thought. It is in this final chapter (8) that the full weight of Dooyeweerd’s critique of historicism specifically and Christian attempts to engage in unbiblical scholarship is revealed. The conclusion of Dooyeweerd’s argument is Read more
So far in our journey through Herman Dooyeweerd’s book In the Twilight of Western Thought, we have explored key concepts related to the development of a distinctly Christian philosophy. But, because Dooyeweerd intends to develop a philosophy that is radically (literally, from the root) Christian, the question he comes to in chapters Read more
We’re continuing our discussion of Herman Dooyeweerd’s little book, In the Twilight of Western Thought. In this month’s post, I’d like to do two things: 1) summarize Dooyeweerd’s explanation of the historical mode of human existence and 2) use his explanation to suggest some reflections for what’s going on currently in our Read more
One of the fruitful ideas I keep returning to in my life and scholarship is how stories or narratives or dramas shape us. They form our imaginations and – even when we’re not conscious of it – they influence how we live. The Scottish philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre (1929- ) says Read more
This is the second installment of my series of reflections on Herman Dooyeweerd’s little book, In the Twilight of Western Thought. If you’re following along in this series or you’re part of the Kirby Laing Centre’s Junior Scholars Hub, welcome back! This week I’m reflecting on chapter 2: “The Concentric Character Read more
The KLC Junior Scholars’ Reading Group looking at Herman Dooyeweerd’s book In the Twilight of Western Thought has begun, and our first session proved fascinating and thought-provoking for me. Besides Mike’s monthly posts going through each chapter ahead of our discussing it, we’ll also have some reflections from participants. I Read more
When I was a young child visiting my grandparents, they often had a detective show on the TV. I can still picture Perry Mason encouraging some distraught woman to give him, “Just the facts, ma’am.” It was believed that if the bare facts themselves became known, the puzzle would certainly Read more
We’re continuing our series of posts considering the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of the various ‘aspects’ proposed by reformational philosophy. We’ve already considered perspectives of economics, aesthetics, religion, ethics and history; this week I want to consider the lingual aspect of the pandemic – the way in which our Read more
Can Christian thinking enhance academic work? It’s our conviction, at Faith-in-Scholarship, that it can. I believe that worshipping and following Jesus Christ as lord of creation and saviour of the world should enrich all kinds of activities – including academic work, from maths to literature. But a lot of the time this conviction Read more