Time, Law & History

From a systematic and genetic point of view this Volume of Select Essays is exceptional in various respects. The problem of time dealt with in the first part of this Volume could be seen as the fourth Volume of his magnum opus, De Wijsbegeerte der Wetsidee (1935-1936). After a penetrating assessment of the diverse conceptions of time found in the history of philosophy and the special sciences, Dooyeweerd explains his own unique understanding of 'cosmic time'. While traditional conceptions of time by and large defined one aspect of time only, Dooyeweerd’s view acknowledges the fact that cosmic time comes to expression within each modal aspect in accordance with the nature of the aspect concerned. According to Dooyeweerd there is a strict correlation between the law-side and factual side of cosmic time - evinced in the difference between time-order and time duration. The time-order in the first three aspects is reversible, but in the physical and post-physical aspects it is irreversible. Succession reflects the numerical time-order and should be distinguished from the (irreversible physical) relation of cause and effect (causality). There is a succession of day and night and night and day, but neither is the day the cause of the night, nor the night of the day. In this volume, Dooyeweerd contributes major statements on the nature of Time, the impact of Historicism, and the structural requirements for the understanding of the Concept of Sovereignty.