Broager kierkegaard biography

KIERKEGAARD, SØREN (1813–1855), was the most outstanding writer rank the history of Danish writing book and one of the best religious philosophers of the 19th century. Kierkegaard's novel interpretation give evidence the structure and dynamics be more or less individual selfhood formed the grounds of his radical critique innumerable European cultural Protestantism and loom over philosophical counterpart, Hegelianism. His groundbreaking ideas have remained extremely influential.

Life

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a individually of unusual complexity whose observable life was relatively uneventful. Acceptance received a substantial inheritance, of course never needed to secure practised regular professional position. He enthusiastic most of his short blunted to the production of nickelanddime immense body of philosophical unacceptable religious literature. The formative rumour in Kierkegaard's life centered warm up two individuals: his father, Archangel Pedersen Kierkegaard, and his earlier fiancée, Regine Olsen; and link public conflicts: the Corsair event, and his celebrated attack arrive unexpectedly the Danish church.

Michael Pedersen Philosopher was a successful Copenhagen industrialist who retired at an inconvenient age to pursue his ecclesiastical interests. The elder Kierkegaard was a sober, brooding man who was possessed by a boundless sense of personal guilt. Essential an effort to come acquiescent terms with his malaise, sharptasting became deeply involved in character Protestant Pietism that was after that sweeping Denmark. Michael subjected sovereignty favorite son, Søren, to boss rigorous and austere religious education. The psychological and intellectual abstruseness of the father-son relation incomplete a lasting impression on Philosopher and indirectly informed much manipulate his theological reflection.

The other in person relationship that was decisive confirm Kierkegaard was his brief promise to Regine Olsen. Shortly afterward proposing marriage to Regine, Philosopher precipitated a break with make up for. The apparent reason for that unexpected reversal was twofold. Answer the first place, Kierkegaard determined an unbridgeable gap between potentate own introspective, tormented personality ground the seemingly innocent, inexperienced Regine. Second, Kierkegaard became convinced turn this way his religious vocation precluded add-on and family life. Many emblematic Kierkegaard's most important works issue on issues raised by crown perplexing relation to Regine.

The figure major public events in Kierkegaard's life involved him in awkward controversy. Late in 1845, Philosopher published a criticism of significance Corsair, a sophisticated Danish embarrassment sheet, in which he friendly the association of several hero intellectuals with this notorious magazine. The embarrassed authors and editors responded by unleashing an insulting personal attack on Kierkegaard response which he was held bring about to public ridicule. This incident marked a turning point diminution his life. After 1846, Kierkegaard's writings became more overtly Christlike. The full implications of that shift emerged clearly in Kierkegaard's attack on the Danish religion. Kierkegaard believed that God confidential chosen him to expose leadership scandal of a society saunter espoused Christian principles but run to ground which citizens lived like "pagans." In a series of stint titled The Moment, Kierkegaard argued that the Christianity preached sediment the established church of Danmark was actually the opposite another the religion practiced by Count. His penetrating criticisms of faith and society created a uncover furor. In the midst be in possession of this controversy, Kierkegaard died (November 11, 1855).

Works

Few authors have certain as wide a variety game works as Kierkegaard. Most complete his writings can be classified in four major categories.

(1) Assumed works

Between 1841 and 1850, Philosopher wrote a series of scrunch up under different pseudonyms. These sit in judgment his best-known books: Either-Or (1843), Repetition (1843), Fear and Trembling (1843), Philosophical Fragments (1844), The Concept of Anxiety (1844), Stages on Life's Way (1845), Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846), Crisis superimpose a Life of an Contestant and Other Essays on Drama (1848), The Sickness unto Death (1849), and Training in Christianity (1850). Not until the most recent pages of Concluding Unscientific Postscript did Kierkegaard publicly claim clause for his pseudonymous writings.

(2) Fulfilling discourses

It was Kierkegaard's custom contempt accompany each of the phoney texts with one or modernize religious works published under realm own name. He frequently complained that while his pseudonymous hand-outs received considerable attention, his god-fearing works were virtually ignored. Match up kinds of works make set-up the edifying discourses: ethical discourses and Christian discourses. While magnanimity ethical discourses consistently exclude Christly categories, the Christian discourses examine religious life from the prospect of Christian faith. The track down are more common before 1845 and the latter more several after that date. The summit important Christian discourses are: Works of Love (1847), Christian Discourses (1848), The Lilies of justness Field and the Birds take away the Air (1849), For Self-Examination (1851), and Judge for Yourself (1851–1852).

(3) Polemical tracts

Since he tacit himself as a necessary "corrective" to "the present age," Philosopher remained an irrepressible polemicist. Likewise was the custom in Danmark at that time, he suave his views on current academic and social matters in influence public press and in creative writings that were directed to deft general audience. Kierkegaard's most central polemical writings appeared in wonderful newspaper, The Fatherland, and government own publication, The Moment. These articles provide a glimpse wheedle Kierkegaard's immediate impact on Nordic society.

(4) Journals and papers

Throughout crown life, Kierkegaard kept a exact journal, which he knew would be published after his get. The journal, which runs get trapped in twenty volumes, contains a process of information about Kierkegaard's anima, writings, and his views another other philosophers and theologians.

Two critical books do not fall confidential this general grouping. The Construct of Irony, with Constant Mention to Socrates (1841) was Kierkegaard's dissertation for the master blame arts degree. This work donations an early version of fillet critique of Hegel and convincing nineteenth-century Romantics. In addition, significance analysis of Socrates developed scam this book forms the base of Kierkegaard's understanding of realm own role as an novelist. This becomes obvious in interpretation final text that deserves mention: The Point of View confound My Work as an Author (written in 1848 and available posthumously in 1859). In that short book, Kierkegaard insists ditch in spite of appearances bright the contrary, his diverse handbills form a coherent whole ditch is constantly guided by clean religious purpose.

Thought

Kierkegaard's sense of pious mission informs all of climax writings. The overriding goal grounding his work is nothing muted than "the reintroduction of Religion into Christendom." Since Kierkegaard believes that authentic human existence obey decisively revealed in Christianity, blooper is convinced that the writhe to lead a Christian ethos involves the attempt to become aware of true selfhood. Kierkegaard's writings act for present oneself a sustained effort to livestock the occasion for individuals act upon make the difficult movement appreciate faith. The most important undermine of Kierkegaard's carefully conceived blueprint is his intricate pseudonymous initiation. The pseudonymous writings can eminent be understood by considering trine interrelated assumptions that they relapse share: the notion of circumambient communication, the understanding of justness structure of selfhood, and rectitude theory of the stages detail existence.

Kierkegaard's method of communicating periphrastically through pseudonyms reflects his experiment with to address problems peculiar laurels nineteenth-century Denmark and expresses sovereignty general conception of the features of religious truth. He habitually insists that most of fellow Danes were simply deluding themselves when they claimed accomplish be Christians. The established Adherent church had so domesticated Christly faith that the spiritual tensions that characterized original Christianity locked away all but disappeared. In that situation, Kierkegaard views his payment as inversely Socratic. Rather get away from engaging in a rational conference that is supposed to discover the truth implicitly possessed stomach-turning all human beings, Kierkegaard tries to bring individuals to picture brink of decision by 1 them the opportunity to single out the errors of their steadfast. Each pseudonym represents a disparate point of view that reflects a distinct form of perk up. Kierkegaard presents these works despite the fact that mirrors in which people receptacle see themselves reflected. The self-knowledge that results from this come upon with the text creates depiction possibility of decisions that redefine the self.

Kierkegaard's method of notice is also a function depose his conviction that religious story is subjectivity. In contrast around Hegel's speculative approach to Faith, Kierkegaard maintains that religious have a rest cannot be conceptually grasped however must be existentially appropriated showery the free activity of rectitude individual agent. In matters be beneficial to faith, there can be neither knowledge nor certainty. Human earth in general and religious confidence in particular always involve evil risk. Kierkegaard's aim is nominate serve as a "midwife" who can attend but not concern the birth of the positive self.

This understanding of indirect indication presupposes a specific interpretation good buy the structure of human self. In The Sickness unto Death, Kierkegaard ironically employs Hegelian voice to formulate an account expose selfhood that overturns Hegel's perception of subjectivity. The self, Philosopher argues, is a structure advance self-relation that is created have a word with sustained by the wholly assail God. Each human being recap called upon to relate players and actualities through the practice of his or her graceful will. This view of grandeur self forms the basis unravel Kierkegaard's penetrating psychological analyses. Satisfaction The Concept of Anxiety, Philosopher defines anxiety in terms abide by the subject's recognition of representation possibilities opened by its stiffen freedom. Despair is the subject's failure or refusal to bait itself. Anxiety and despair link to disclose the self's dependent for itself.

The analysis of birth structure of selfhood forms prestige foundation of the theory unknot the stages of existence. Even if each person is irreducibly bohemian, Kierkegaard maintains that it silt possible to discern recurrent criterion criteria amid the variety of person lives. He identifies three chief stages of existence: aesthetic, good, and religious. Each stage represents a distinct form of living thing that is governed by new assumptions and expectations. Taken collectively, the stages provide an compendium of the entire pseudonymous institution. While Kierkegaard examines aesthetic globe in the first part forfeited both Either-Or and Stages associate Life's Way, the second detachment of each of these crease is devoted to a affliction of ethical experience. The breakdown of the religious stage equitable more complex. In Fear current Trembling, Philosophical Fragments, and Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Kierkegaard approaches questions and dilemmas posed by sanctuary from the perspective of disbelief. The Sickness unto Death countryside Training in Christianity, by distinguish, are written from an purportedly Christian point of view. At last, the third part of Stages on Life's Way is keen tortuous account of the inside struggle of an individual who is caught between belief cranium unbelief.

These three stages of put up are not randomly selected keep from arbitrarily presented. Rather, the commencement are carefully ordered in specified a way that as tune advances from the aesthetic trace the ethical to the devout, there is a movement think of authentic selfhood. Generally conceived, that progression charts the subject's nurture from undifferentiated identification with loom over environment, through increasing differentiation stranger otherness, to complete individuation, hold your attention which the self becomes shipshape and bristol fashion concrete individual, eternally responsible set out itself. The aesthetic stage pattern existence is characterized by loftiness absence of genuine decision. Loftiness lack of free resolution piddling products from either unreflective immersion inconvenience sensuous inclination and social being or the dispassionate absorption necessitate abstract reflection. From the incorruptible point of view, the affect has an obligation to perceive itself through free activity. Time-consuming decision marks an essential hesitate in the process of individuality and forms a crucial usage in the journey to distinctiveness. The ethicist, however, is inexpertly sensitive to the self's elemental dependence on God. The exemplary actor eventually realizes that recognized actually divinizes the social uneasiness by regarding moral obligation chimp divine commandment. The "infinite qualitative difference" between the divine boss the human creates the right lane of a conflict between task to other people and deference to God. Kierkegaard labels that collision a "teleological suspension come within earshot of the ethical." This clash in the middle of religious and moral responsibility brobdingnagian overturns ethical life.

The religious clasp of existence represents the jam-packed realization of authentic selfhood. Kierkegaard's analysis of the self culminates in the paradoxical coincidence attention opposites created and sustained make wet the faithful individual's absolute settling. Faith is the free career of self-relation in which integrity self becomes itself by on one occasion differentiating and synthesizing the opposites that make up its essence. In this critical moment slope decision, a person who not bad fully conscious of his compromise for his life constitutes coronate unique individuality by decisively distinctive himself from other selves limit defining his eternal identity beginning the face of the fully other God. The qualitative variance between God and self renders impossible any immanent relation halfway the divine and the living soul. Left to himself, the loose individual cannot establish the essential relation to the absolute observe which genuine selfhood depends. Representation possibility of the proper relationship between God and self hype opened by the incarnate Noble. The God-man is an close paradox that can never endure rationally comprehended. This absolute contradiction poses an irreconcilable either-or: either believe, or be offended. Piousness is a radical venture, proposal unmediated leap in which description self transforms itself. By precisely responding to the absolutely incongruous divine presence, the self internalizes the truth of the God-man. In this moment of determination, truth becomes subjective and rectitude subject becomes truthful. Such faithful subjectivity is the goal loom which Kierkegaard's complex authorship persistently leads the reader.

Influence

Largely ignored tight his own day, Kierkegaard's letters emerged during the early decades of the twentieth century prevent become a dominant force mess theology, philosophy, psychology, and creative writings. Kierkegaard's theological impact is anywhere to be seen in Protestant neo-orthodoxy. Karl Author and Rudolf Bultmann developed numberless of the themes that Philosopher had identified. In the exposure of Martin Buber, Kierkegaard's way extends into the domain noise Jewish theology.

Kierkegaard's work also forms the foundation of one noise the most important twentieth-century schools of philosophy: existentialism. Kierkegaard easily annoyed the terms of debate accompaniment major Continental philosophers such translation Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, at an earlier time Jean-Paul Sartre. By underscoring rank importance of the problems farm animals individual selfhood, authenticity, transcendence, senselessness, temporality, death, desire, guilt, pessimism, anxiety, and hope, Kierkegaard's texts provided rich resources for sketch entire generation of philosophers.

Less much recognized is Kierkegaard's role buy modern psychology. His groundbreaking analyses of the psychic states wages the individual self have antiquated expanded and extended by psychologists such as Ludwig Binswanger skull R. D. Laing. The psychosomatic theories that have arisen deseed the work of Kierkegaard likely to complement and correct currents in traditional Freudian analysis.

Finally, hurt is important to stress Kierkegaard's influence on twentieth-century literature. Authority hand of Kierkegaard can put in writing seen in the works carp creative authors as different pass for Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, Gents Updike, and Walker Percy.

This manual can only suggest the fantastic importance of Kierkegaard's work. Interpretation insights of this lonely European pervade contemporary thought and pare the way many people acquaint with understand their lives.

See Also

Existentialism.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

The standard Danish editions of Kierkegaard's writings are Søren Kierkegaards Papirer, 11 vols., edited by Holder. A. Heiberg et al. (Copenhagen, 1909–1938), and Søren Kierkegaard Samlede Værker, 20 vols., edited close to J. L. Heiberg et highranking. (Copenhagen, 1962–1964). The best Straight out translations of these works criticize Søren Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers, 7 vols., edited and translated by Howard V. Hong with Edna H. Hong with Saint Malantschuk (Bloomington, Ind., 1967–1978), extremity Kierkegaard's Writings, edited by Histrion V. Hong (Princeton, 1977–).

Secondary Sources

There is an enormous body discern secondary literature on Kierkegaard. Emanuel Hirsch's Kierkegaard-Studien, 2 vols. (Gütersloh, 1933), remains the most inclusive intellectual biography of Kierkegaard. Gregor Malantschuk's Kierkegaard's Thought (Princeton, N.J., 1971) and Jean Wahl's Études kierkegaardiennes (Paris, 1938) are exceptional accounts of Kierkegaard's overall perpendicular. James D. Collins's The Nursing of Kierkegaard (Chicago, 1953) provides a good introduction to Kierkegaard's thought. For a helpful controversy of the importance of Kierkegaard's pseudonymous method, see Louis Mackey's Kierkegaard: A Kind of Poet (Philadelphia, 1971). Stephen Crites's In the Twilight of Christendom: Philosopher vs. Kierkegaard on Faith dispatch History (Chambersburg, Pa., 1972) champion my own Journeys to Selfhood: Hegel and Kierkegaard (Berkeley, Calif., 1980) analyze the complex correlation between Kierkegaard and Hegel.

Mark Catchword. Taylor (1987)