Van Til and Idealism
In the eighth and final course of our Fellowship in Reformed Apologetics, Dr. Lane Tipton examines Van Til's exposition and critique of Transcendental Idealism (Kant) and Absolute Idealism (Hegel).
Format
Online
Course
Duration
5 hours, and 49 minutes
Subtitles Included
English
Price
$97
Free
Course Overview
Write your awesome label here.
In the eighth and final course of our Fellowship in Reformed Apologetics, Dr. Lane G. Tipton examines Van Til’s exposition and critique of transcendental idealism (Kant) and absolute idealism (Hegel). The course will begin with an overview Van Til’s critique of various forms of post-Enlightenment idealism. The thesis will emerge that against both transcendental and absolute forms of idealism, of which both entail distinct forms of correlativism, Van Til set forth Reformed Trinitarianism and federalism as a comprehensive alternative. The course will then focus on Kantian transcendental idealism and reflect on Van Til’s vigorous rejection of Kant’s conception of dimensionalism, as well as his notions of theoretical and practical reason. Next, the course will proceed to give sustained and detailed attention to Hegel’s absolute idealism and reflect on Van Til’s comprehensive rejection of Hegelian correlativism. The course will conclude with a summary of Van Til’s doctoral dissertation and explore his argument that idealism is antithetical to Christian theism, since it reduces to pragmatism. Special attention will be given to reading relevant primary sources with critical understanding.
Distinguish and evaluate the key philosophical commitments of Transcendental Idealism (Kant) and Absolute Idealism (Hegel), particularly in terms of their theories of knowledge, reason, and the relation between mind and world.
Assess Cornelius Van Til’s confessional critique of post-Enlightenment idealism, highlighting how his Reformed doctrine of the self-contained Trinity and the representational principle provides an alternative account of epistemology and metaphysics.
Compare Van Til’s understanding of human reason and the sensus divinitatis with Kant’s notion of theoretical and practical reason, demonstrating how Van Til’s view retains a properly theocentric grounding for human knowledge.
Articulate the theological and apologetic significance of Van Til’s argument that idealism, despite its philosophical sophistication, ultimately collapses into correlativism and pragmatism.
Resources and Information
Course Handouts (English)
Course Lessons
Your Teacher
Patrick Jones - Course author
Lane G. Tipton
Dr. Lane G. Tipton is pastor of Trinity Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Easton, Pennsylvania and Fellow of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Reformed Forum.
Van Til and Idealism
In the eighth and final course of our Fellowship in Reformed Apologetics, Dr. Lane Tipton examines Van Til's exposition and critique of Transcendental Idealism (Kant) and Absolute Idealism (Hegel).
Format
Online
Course
Duration
5 hours, and 49 minutes
Subtitles Included
English
Price
$97
Free
