Ch3 §4 Disclosure and differentiation pp 73-80

tradition and culture

Tradition is not a norm—it contains good and bad; it is subject to historical norms itself. All aspects of God’s creation cohere inseparably with each other. The historical aspect maintains its coherence with the organic aspect through cultural life. Historical development is subject to norms and not natural laws.

undifferentiated societies

In undifferentiated societies, the formation of life spheres remains undeveloped. In an undifferentiated society, there is no concern for the individual – the individual is subsumed by membership in the community. Such a primitive community in terms of the historical aspect is an undifferentiated society. In undifferentiated communities, tradition is all-powerful. Renewal is rejected because they believe the gods would not approve. Culture in this undifferentiated state remains outside of world history and can become extinct. The Papuan tribe of Marindamin in New Guinea is such an example.

 Witte: und are usually found in earlier cultures and have not yet developed separate institutions, each with its own defined form and task. Instead one or two institutions form several tasks.

medieval societies

Medieval society is another undifferentiated society, but in terms of its historical aspect, it is very different to the pre-Christian tribes. It was essentially an ecclesiastical culture—the institutional Roman Catholic church dominated. National differentiation was unknown. We could diagram the situation:

DIFFERENTIATED SUPERSTRUCTURE - Pope, bishops etc.
UNDIFFERENTIATED SUBSTRUCTURE – Emperor

 The undifferentiated superstructure meant that the church could control the whole of cultural life. The old German clans disintegrated; the guilds then preserved the totalitarian principle. The guilds were undifferentiated. A second model was the Germanic household communities; these defined the religious sphere of the gods of home and hearth. The head had absolute power – the Mund principle. The Frankish kingdoms took over the German tribes and subjected all to a general Mund; the governors and military leaders were subjected to a special Mund.

hitler’s retrogression

Hitler reached back to the ancient Germanic example and built his Führerstaat on the primitive principle of the Gefolgschaft .

Every sphere of life, including the economic sector, was incorporated into the totalitarian national community under the principles of Führer and Gefolgschaft .

The idea of a differentiated state was pushed into the background in favor of the ancient Germanic idea of the nation (Volk).

differentiation

Historical development ought to bring the wealth of creational structures to full, differentiated disclosure in the light of the creation motive.

Only in the differentiation of culture can the unique nature of each creational structure fully reveal itself.

Undifferentiated forms gradually differentiate into various societal structures through historical development.

cultural economy

The principle of cultural economy is a guarantee that the view of history developed so far is indeed on the course charted by the scriptural motive of creation. 

"Cultural economy" requires that the historical power sphere of each differentiated cultural sphere should be limited to the boundaries set by the nature proper to each life sphere.

Wherever a totalitarian image of culture is pictured as the ideal that erases the hard-won recognition of sphere sovereignty, one can be certain that we are faced with a reactionary direction in history

review questions

1. What is the difference between a differentiated and an undifferentiated society?
2. Can a primitive society be differentiated?

3. What is the principle of 'sphere sovereignty,' and how does it contrast with totalitarian ideas about culture?

4. Why does Dooyeweerd emphasise the importance of God's Word as the basis for understanding the norms of historical development?

study questions

1. How can an undifferentiated society become differentiated?

2. What is the relationship between tradition, progress, and God's guiding norms?

3. How do historic and relativistic views undermine responsible cultural engagement?