ABSTRACT
We claimed in Chapter 3 that Dooyeweerd’s thinking can be summarised in the words: ‘reason isn’t autonomous’. You need a starting point that precedes your thinking; thinking can’t manage without one. That is why reason is never autonomous. And for Dooyeweerd, such starting points are religious: they have to do with the ultimate meaning and destiny of our existence. They are the engines that drive our thinking and acting. Everyone has such powerful motivations. They also propel cultures. When they overarch centuries, not merely generations, Dooyeweerd calls them ground motives (Chapter 3). In this chapter, we are pursuing our philosophical investigation of one specific manifestation of the role of cultural engines, namely their influence on theoretical thought.
