This festschrift collects a number of insightful essays by a group of accomplished Christian scholars, all of who have either worked with or studied under Hendrik Hart during his 35-year tenure as Senior Member in Systematic Philosophy at the Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto, Canada. As reflected in the title, these essays are organized around the theme of responsibility, which is central to Hart's philosophical work. Illustrating the breadth of Hart's philosophical contributions, as well as the diverse interests of the book's contributors, the essays contained herein cover a diverse range of topics, including philosophy of religion, moral philosophy, philosophy of science, aesthetics, pragmatism, feminist thought, theology, and cultural studies.

The original is in Dutch (left hand page). The right hand page is an English translation of these lectures that give a tightly formulated introduction to Calvinist philosophy. Introduction by Anthony Tol. Preface by Calvin Seerveld.

As Anthony Tol explains in his general introduction to (his translation of) Vollenhoven's 1926 inaugural address, the Reformed epistemology that Vollenhoven espouses here is essentially three-layered. Most basic is the intuition - the starting point of all knowing. It starts with discerning. Then there is knowledge. At this point language, communication, and judgments are relevant. The third layer is thought. Thought may disclose and renew or criticize and correct against the background of what we know. Thought is also central to concept formation. The factor that runs through these three layers is truth, taken realistically. It has its seat in the intuition of discerning. It is central to knowledge, for the essence of knowledge is said to be "possessing truth." And in connection with thought, or more particularly in concept formation, the latter is described as "truth grasped in a form." Apart from advocating his own understanding of epistemology in this inaugural address, Vollenhoven takes issue with how epistemology is generally understood. The critique is cast in a historical overview.

Seerveld sees a central role in education for "understanding and developing history," but then "history" not as rote rehearsal of what has transpired but as past and present events in their complex interrelation. Education is inevitably an induction into our cultural heritage; conceived ecumenically, in the spirit of loving our neighbors and their "mistaken visions," wherever and whenever they may be. But as Cultural Education and History Writing makes plain, we are initiators - culture-makers, shapers of history, and also history-keepers - as much as we are inductees. These seventeen essays are introduced by Doug Blomberg and Gideon Strauss.

Art, for Seerveld, belongs to the very infrastructure of a good society, in the same way that a country's economy, transportation system, or media network do: "With a vital artistic infrastructure priming its inhabitants' imaginativity, a society can dress its wounds and be able to clothe and mitigate what otherwise might become naked technocratic deeds." Redemptive Art in Society, introduced by Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin, addresses the need for Christian public artistry and ways in which Christians can be stewards of art.

Cultural Problems in Western Society, introduced by Barbara Carvill, explores the unfavorable conditions in which European society and its Christian artists find themselves today. Seerveld masterfully locates current quandaries in the large timeframe stretching from Ancient Greece to the present, all the while introducing normative alternatives that are biblically oriented. The artwork of mostly twentieth century and contemporary artists that Seerveld includes exemplify the kind of redemptive, modern, Christian art he is advocating.

Seerveld is convinced that philosophical aesthetics-systematic reflection on the nature and task of human imaginative life-will be normative when the thought is wholesome, edible, worth chewing, and builds the body of a community with joyful shalom. Normative Aesthetics, introduced by Lambert Zuidervaart, aims to spell out some of what this aesthetic imperative means for human imaginative acts, for the arts, and for other acts and institutions where aesthetic functions play a role.

This anthology gathers thirty-one articles, some in print for the first time, from twenty-eight authors who use the Kuyperian framework to critique and to develop Christian perspectives on, among other things, the church, culture, gender, common grace, education, politics, scholarship, fashion, art, science, and evolution. This book provides an introduction to Kuyper's life and thought through the eyes of others. The breadth and scope of these articles stand as testimony to Abraham Kuyper's desire to see the lordship of Christ extend to every area of life.

An English translation of university lectures (1930-1945) that give a tightly formulated introduction to Calvinist philosophy. Translated by John H. Kok. Introduction by Anthony Tol. Preface by Calvin Seerveld

Dirk H. T. Vollenhoven (1892-1978) was professor of philosophy at the Vrije Univcrsiteit in Amsterdam from 1926 to 1963 and one of the founders of Reformational philosophy. Much of his work was devoted to the history of philosophy and the development of his problem-historical method.

Bril and Vunderink introduce this discussion of Dirk Vollenhovcn's problem-historical method w ith a brief overview of his life, his connections with his brother-in-law Herman Dooyeweerd, and their influence on Reformational philosophy.

In Part One, Bril focuses on the process of historical transition by tracing allegiance to norms lying outside of. or behind, the cosmos, as Plato believed, to the more recent conviction that these norms arc innate or internal to the human subject.

Part Two highlights questions related to how one frames a history of culture or of philosophy. Bril reviews four models of historiograph), namely those of Jan Hcn-drik van den Berg. Michel Foifcault. Thomas Kuhn. and Dirk Vollenhoven.

In the third section of this book. Bril unpacks the sense of Vollenhoven's distinguishing between various "types'" as different traditions of thought.

Part Four gets at the question "What must I do?" Philosophers over the course of time have answered this question differently and taken different positions regarding the pertinent norms and criteria. In this section. Bril considers the place of religion and tune-currents in this process.

Understanding Vollenhoven's problem-historical labors can be helpful to those searching for answers for their own historical investigations. Bril is also convinced that Vollenhoven's work can help one better grasp the background and confusions of our times.