Dooyeweerd’s Understanding of Meaning (1)

Abstract

Meaning is very important in Dooyeweerd’s Reformational philosophy. This essay seeks to examine what Dooyeweerd wrote about meaning and how he used it in mapping out the various domains of his philosophy. A distinction is drawn between different types of meaning, and it seems that what Dooyeweerd intended was a meaningfulness that exists prior to being, which surrounds and pervades us and is not limited to humans. The aims of the article are to paint a systematic picture of Dooyeweerd’s understanding of meaning and suggest some ways in which it might be developed further by Reformational philosophers. This essay is intended, however, to be of wider interest than just to Reformational discourse, especially in conjunction with its companion paper, which discusses how Dooyeweerd’s understanding can be useful in the sciences and practice.