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Time and Polarity ATSO EERIKÄINEN TIME AND POLARITY The Dimensional Thinking of Karl Heim To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Helsinki, for public examination in Porthania, hall IV, on October 21, 2000 at 10 AM. ISBN 952-91-2639-5 (nid.) ISBN 952-91-2640-9 (PDF) Helsinki 2000 Yliopistopaino University of Helsinki Abstract TIME AND POLARITY THE DIMENSIONAL THINKING OF KARL HEIM by Atso Eerikäinen Astonishing discoveries in the natural sciences are opening new paths of conversation among scientists, philosophers, and theologians. It has been recognized that each of their disciplines share a common basis: a desire to make sense of the unknown and the unknowable. Opposition and “creative dissonance” are changing into dialogue and consonance. On this common basis, it is possible to improve our understanding of reality, even though we can never fully resolve the whole mystery of reality in our quest. Karl Heim (1874-1958) was one of the first theologians who deeply understood the necessity of a fundamental discussion among practitioners of science, philosophy, and theology. Heim argued that, first, we must construct an intelligible ontological, rather than epistemological, theory, although such a theory will have epistemological consequences. Heim’s dimensional doctrine was a coherent ontological theory of reality, a “theology of nature.” The purpose of this doctoral dissertation is to analyze Karl Heim’s dimensional thinking in the context of philosophy, science, and theology. The main question is, is the “theology of nature”: a synthesis between the worldpicture of current natural sciences and the religious world-view possible on the ontological basis of Heim’s dimensional thinking? Two auxiliary questions are posed: What is the intension of Heim’s dimensional thinking? And what is the extension of this thinking? The most important source of this dissertation is Heim’s six-volume work, Der evangelische Glaube und das Denken der Gegenwart. Grundzüge einer christlichen Lebens-anschauung, which was originally published between 1931-1952. The research method practiced here is a critical systematic analysis. Thus, my study is not comparative, even though I occasionally compare Heim’s thinking to other scholars’ arguments. In order to provide a clear and systematic picture of Heim’s dimensional thinking, this study will proceed as follows: Chapter I presents a historical description of the evolution and philosophical battleground of his dimensional thinking. Chapter II provides an analysis of the basic concepts of his dimensional thinking. Chapter III analyzes and formalizes the intension of the dimensional thinking. The goal will be to answer the first question posed above. Chapter IV answers the second question. It is an analysis of the main contributions of Heim’s dimensional thinking to philosophy, science, and theology. The basic concepts of space, boundary, and polarity, with two-dimensional time as a general denominator of Heim’s dimensional thinking, have opened new perspectives for resolving such ultimate metaphysical questions as the controversy of idealism and realism, the problem of mind and body, the measurement problem of Quantum mechanics (QM), the problems of time, cosmology, and eschatology. This dissertation concludes with an estimation of the usefulness of Heim’s dimensional thinking for the discussion concerning ultimate questions related to a “Theory of Everything” (T.O.E). CONTENTS Acknowledgements .....................................................................................iii Introduction..................................................................................................1 1. Research Problem................................................................................1 2. Previous Research on Heim’s work ................................................... 10 3. Research Method, Sources, and Literature .......................................... 17 Chapter I: An Outline of Heim’s Dimensional Thinking ..............................19 1. Evolution of Heim’s Dimensional Thinking.............................................19 A. The First Period (1899-1906): Heim’s Decision-category ....................19 B. The Second Period (1906-1920): Heim’s Destiny-category..................27 C. The Third Period (1920-1928): Heim’s Non-objectifiable- and Perspective-categories ..................................................................30 D. The Fourth Period (1928-1958): Heim’s Dimension-category..............33 2. The Philosophical Battleground of Heim’s Dimensional Thinking............37 A. Kant’s Critical Idealism ......................................................................39 B. Post-Kantian Philosophies ..................................................................50 Chapter II: Basic Concepts of Heim’s Dimensional Thinking.......................69 1. Space .....................................................................................................70 A. The Problem of Space from Newton to Quantum Mechanics...............70 B. Heim’s Definitions of Space ...............................................................78 C. Types of Spaces and their Openings....................................................80 2. Boundary ...............................................................................................83 A. Heim’s Definitions of Boundary .........................................................83 B. The Boundary of Content ...................................................................84 C. The Boundary of Dimension ..............................................................86 D. Distinctions caused by the Double-Meaning of Boundary....................87 3. Polarity...................................................................................................91 A. Intra-Mundane Polarity.......................................................................93 B. Supra-Polarity ....................................................................................95 Chapter III: The Intension of Heim’s Dimensional Thinking ........................97 1. Polar Spaces ...........................................................................................98 A. Spaces................................................................................................99 B. Dimensional Boundaries................................................................... 112 C. Dimensional Unity and Difference.................................................... 116 D. Dimensional Part-Relation................................................................ 119 E. Dimensional Confrontation or Meeting.............................................. 120 F. Dimensional Knowledge................................................................... 123 2. Supra-Polar Space................................................................................. 124 A. Space of God.................................................................................... 125 B. Other Supra-Polar Spaces ................................................................. 133 3. A Formal Presentation of Heim’s Dimensional Thinking.................. 138 Chapter IV: The Extension of Heim’s Dimensional Thinking .............................142 1. Contributions to Philosophy............................................................. 142 A. Kant’s Critical Idealism .............................................................. 143 B. The Controversy between Idealism and Realism.......................... 150 C. The Mind-Body Problem............................................................. 156 2. Contributions to Physics........................................................................ 161 A. Quantum Mechanics......................................................................... 162 B. Two-Dimensional Time ................................................................... 170 3. Contributions to Theology..................................................................... 183 A. Heim’s Dimensional Cosmology ...................................................... 184 B. Heim’s Dimensional Eschatology ..................................................... 190 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 194 List of Figures .......................................................................................... 204 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................ 204 Bibliography............................................................................................. 206 1. Sources ........................................................................................... 206 2. Literature ........................................................................................ 208 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As a high school student, I had two earthshaking reading experiences. The first was Also sprach Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, and the second was Jesus der Weltvollender by Karl Heim. Both books were read in excellent Finnish translations. Without those two books, I would not have decided to start studying theology and philosophy. Over thirty years ago the thesis for my Master’s and Licentiate degrees, Karl Heimin dimensio-oppi (The Dimensional Doctrine of Karl Heim), was evaluated by Professors Lars Haikola and Seppo A. Teinonen at the University of Helsinki. Haikola’s criticism arose from his phobia of metaphysics. He stated laconically:
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