Video Transcript: Leading Functions and Type Laws

Let's go back over some of that and make sure it's as clear as it can be. I put  these definitions up here, so that you can use them and remind yourself of what  we're doing. X is a part of Y if and only if X plays a role in the internal  organization of Y. X cannot come into existence apart from Y, and that's where  Aristotle left it. The example he gives is of touring a battlefield, after it's after the  battle is over, and somebody says, What's that over there? And the answer is  pretty grisly. The answers though is that's somebody's thumb. The thumb of a  man that got cut off in the battle, the thumb is a part of the human body, it plays  a role in its internal organization, and it cannot come into existence or function  apart from the body. No, I'm we are going to argue that this is insufficient. This is correct as far as it goes, but it needs more. The relation of another example of  this relation is that of a cell to a plant of which it is a part, the cell can't come into existence or function apart from the plant, and it plays a role in its internal  organization. We're contrasting that part/whole relation to the relation called  Dooyeweerd calls encapsus or a capsulate relation, this is a whole that is  encapsulated in the greater whole if and only if it plays a role in the internal  organization of the greater whole, but it can exist apart from the greater whole,  and it has a different leading function. And that's the thing that we need to add  up here. Otherwise, it looks as though humans are parts of the state or other  organizations, they play a role in their internal organization. Humans don't come  into existence apart from relationships of other people, their parents in particular. But then why are they not just parts, because because of its difference in its  leading function. x has the same leading function as y. So the cell, the leading  function of a cell is biotic, the leading function of the plant is biotic. So that is a  part/whole relation. Down here, a smaller whole is included encapsulated in a  larger one, provided it plays a role in its internal organization. But it can exist  apart from the larger whole. And it has a different leading function. And this this  one that secures the point that human beings are never just parts of a greater  whole. They're always sub wholes, members of the State members of a family  members of a church of employees or customers of a business members of  school either students or faculty. It goes on and on. But humans are not just  parts of anything. And so they're not to be treated that way or was made to treat  them that way. We're building this you see piece by piece, we can come up with  a Christian view of the state, the political institutions in society. And I made the  point in passing. And I'll just mention that again, just just for clarification, that not  all capsulate relations create greater wholes, there's, there are relationships and I gave the example of a bee to a certain flower there's a certain type of bee that  can only feed on the nectar of a particular flower. And it's that bee is necessary  to pollinate the flower. And the flower is necessary to provide food for the bee,  that they do not thereby form a greater whole. But that's an encapsulant relation  is not a part/whole relation either. Each, neither can continue to exist or come  into exist without the other neither plays a role in the internal organization of the 

other. And they do not have the same leading function. So that's going to be a  capsulate relationship. So there are encapsulated wholes with sub wholes as  parts, there encapsulate relationships that are greater. Take another example of  another artifact, a garden are the things that are included in the garden, parts of  the garden. Sometimes we talked that way, unguardedly? Well, there's this bush this line of plants here, that rock formation over there in this little statue behind  and so on the little waterfall we made over here. These They're all parts of the  garden No, in this view, they would be encapsulated wholes and the garden  would be a capsulate whole, it will be a greater whole, including a number of  lesser wholes. Why? Well, any number of those things, whatever is part of the  garden, could exist without being part of the garden. And some of the things that make up the garden are not even alive, like little statue in the rock formation I  put over here. So they don't have the same leading function. So, this is how we  come up with a view that a garden is a capsulate whole. Again, a greater whole  including many encapsulated wholes within it. As I said, the importance of this is that it applies to the ways in which humans are members of social institutions  and it avoids the trap of falling into collectivism or individualism. Typically,  collectivism has wanted to secure a life of free rephrase that wants to give its  citizens a life of security. It makes security paramount and the existence of a  whole paramount. Individualism has stressed freedom rather than security, we  want the individuals to have as much freedom as they can. So we, we contract  together to make the states, whatever we want it to be. And so if we just want a  security company, then that's what we get, and we have nothing. The statement  on that view has nothing to do with the common good, and the greater good of  all its citizens. Those are failings of each, I think, because each of those views,  leaves the people who hold them to focus narrowly on one thing or another.  That's why Marx ends up saying justice is whatever preserves the state. And the individualist is going to say, whatever preserves the individual. That's what the  state's for. If it can't do it, get rid of it and get another one. Neither of those is the Christian view, according to this theory, and the hints that we have from  Scripture. The hints we have from scripture, don't form a theory. But they may be formed into a theory. And we're going to come upon that in our next session,  where we're going to take what hints we have in Scripture, and not claim the  Scripture teaches the theory, but we're going to build a theory on them, a Theory of society, what society is like, how it's to be organized, and so on. And then  that's going to lead us to a specific view of the political institution, which is the  state. Now, I'm going to leave you to think that all that over, that's our review,  and next time, we'll take the next step toward that, that theory