which creatures function. As to the human being, outwardly its functions are “structured throughout,” inwardly there is the direction-determining soul or heart, “out of which are the issues of life.” The law, which in a generic sense forms a boundary limit for created reality, involves a three-fold specification: (i) there is the creation command (the “let there be …” of Genesis 1) relevant to “the origination, structure, whereby is implicit its modal diversity [of law-spheres], and the internal development of each kingdom”; (ii) the love command, which “concerns the [moral] direction of human life in its relation to God and fellow human being”; and (iii) the positive laws, which “bridge the love command and the concrete situation” in need of regulation “in light of society’s purpose, historical phase, and geographical location.” Since “knowing is a part of being,” the theory of knowledge presupposes ontology, hence analysis needs to proceed from created reality and respect its being law-bound. Theology, in turn, is dependent on revelation, rather than on logically drawn conclusions about the being of God. The latter procedure ignores the boundary that defines our human limitation. On the history of philosophy As to the history of philosophy, Vollenhoven concentrated on developing a problem-historical method. A philosopher finds himself in a network of relations with his contemporaries and predecessors. This is reflected in his philosophical position, on the one hand in how he deals with current problems of his time and attempts to supersede them, on the other hand in evidencing preference for how a specific tradition of thought treats the problems that recur in all thought. The discussion of current problems is usually conducted in terms of a uniformity of style, focusing on those features that are taken to be normative or involving a view of truth or of law that is deemed fitting for such contemporary discussions. Seen from a greater range of time, the distinct styles of what were contemporary approaches give rise to historically distinct periods, in temporal succession, that Vollenhoven refers to as “time-currents” in philosophy (e.g., Hellenism, Neoplatonism, Waning Middle Ages, the Age of Enlightenment, Positivism, Existentialism, Postmodernism). On the other hand, the treatment of recurring problems centers on ontology and its influence on the variety of views concerning the world (or the cosmos, which may include the world of the gods, such as in Gnosticism) and concerning anthropology, often seen as reflecting the structure