openly to criticize the dogma of the immortality of the soul. This was first initiated by A. Janse, a self-taught elementary school principal with whom Vollenhoven struck up a friendship. In “The first questions of psychology” (1929), a published lecture, Vollenhoven explained that the soul, as usually understood, is not an immortal substance but rather the psyche as a function of the human being, which operates within an aspect (or “law-sphere”) of reality. He took the soul itself to be the central unity of the heart of the human being. Vollenhoven had no enemies, but he did gain his first opponents in this connection among psychologists, in particular Jan Waterink, who defended the distinct reality of body, soul, and spirit. The syllabus for the introductory course to philosophy, entitled Isagôgè Philosophiae (1930), was the first document to summarize the new “Reformational philosophy.” (Vollenhoven always referred to it as “Calvinistic philosophy,” a term he first used in his inaugural address of 1926.) It attracted many and led to the formation of a distinct school in philosophy. In his Vice-Chancellor's oration, given during his term (1932-1933) as Vice-Chancellor of the university, he discussed “The necessity of a Christian logic.” Vollenhoven criticized the so-called “neutrality” of logic. The latter uses logic as mere instrument of analysis, guided by the epistemological subject, rather than viewing logic as contributing substantively to the understanding through its principles. When shortly afterwards Vollenhoven's book appeared, Calvinism and the Reformation of Philosophy (1933), this clarified his program, but it also elicited criticism (from H.H. Kuyper, V. Hepp), especially regarding Vollenhoven's opposition to scholasticism. In response Vollenhoven displayed perseverance without becoming polemical: “We must not seek conflict but work constructively.” While Vollenhoven and Dooyeweerd worked in close cooperation, each retained his independence. Dooyeweerd defended Reformational philosophy from the standpoint of a transcendental critique. This critique sought to expose the dependence of thought, particularly theoretical thought, on religion. Vollenhoven was keener on setting out the viable religious presuppositions of any understanding of reality. A unique ontology For example, in ontology Vollenhoven opposed the notion of a concept of being that encompasses God, cosmos, and the human being. Vollenhoven's primary distinction was that of the Trinity, who is, the law for the cosmos that holds, and the created cosmos, which is entirely sustained by God. In connection with the cosmos, different fundamental aspects (“law-spheres”) are distinguished—fifteen of which have been made explicit—in