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A Study of Suffering in T~E Thought of S0ren Kierkegaard

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A Study of Suffering in T~E Thought of S0ren Kierkegaard A STUDY OF SUFFERING IN T~E THOUGHT OF S0REN KIERKEGAARD BY EDWARD ERIC IVOR GLASS SUBMITTED IN PART FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE OF RELIGION IN THE FACULTY OF ARTS AT THE UNIVERISTY OF DURBAN-WESTVILLE Supervisors Professor G.C. Oosthuizen Professor R. Singh DATE SUBMITTED 1 NOVEMBER 1987 CONTENTS Introduction The goal in truth through suffering The diale~tic - accepted choice through freedom 2 Examples, identification 3 Relevance of suffering .> .' 4 Impact 5 Life-long dimension 6 ~he individual in the moment 7 Understanding the ever-present immediacy of Suffering 8 Hum i I i ty 9 Loneliness 10 ~Challenge 11 S.K. the missioner. Hegel 12 ­ S.K. the Catalyst 13 ;. S. K• and the Church 14 The enigmatic believer 16 :Suffering and the reader 18 ·Subjective action. The risk 19 Chapter 1. Kierkegaard's background. Influences on him. The development of thought amongst his precursors 22 The personal/emotional background Early years 23 Thought development 24 The Corsair 25 Attacks on Church .... death 26 The philosophical background 27 The individual - guilt The time factor 28 Inwardness 30 CONTENTS The precursors: 37 Pascal 38 Hume 43 Kant 46 Hamann 48 Hegel 51 Schleiermacher 58 von Schelling 60 Lessing 64 von Badaar 66 Locke 67 Voltaire 68 Socrates 69 Luther 69 The Bible 71 Phenomenology 73 Early tension 75 The melancholy youth 76 Angst 77 Maturing 78 The Student 79 Distrust develops 80 The Stages 81 The revelation of his prayers 83 Genuine existential suffering and love 85-87 Indirect Communication and the mystical 89 Presentiment 91 Blessed misery. S.K. paradoxical & unusual 91-92 Scriptural insight 93 God1s subjectivity 94 Friedmann 96 The Curse 97 Regine Olsen 99 CONTENTS Publications 100 The Family 104 Early Education 107 A Magnificent Obsession 112 The Great Earthquake 113 Chapter 2. 11 7 The Unfolding and Development of his thought in phenomenological perspective. Some Descriptive Analysis. Results of the watershed - tension 117-118 The Church challenged 11 9 The epic decision 120 Independence & battle with the Church 121 X Dread 124 Progress - further watershed 125 Another religious experience - healing with God 128 A more mature S.K. 129 Peace - then back to uncertainty 130 His love and hate 131 The engagement again 132 Crisis again. The maieutic. Freedom through crisis 138 The Corsair Affair 140 The Adler Case 146 Sti 11 no peace 147 A hint of the end. Contemplation to forgiveness 147-149 Attack renewed - the Bishop 150 More openness, to acceptance 151-153 The final outburst. Death 155 CONTENTS Chapter 3. 157 Critical Assessment The pattern of his thinking Scripture, Socrates, Augustine 158-159 From historical to historic 162 Individuality to Paradox 163 Barth, Luther 165-166 Bultmann 171 Reinhold Niebuhr 174 Tillich 179 Bonhoeffer 180 Sartre 184 S.K., Science & Argument 189 Logical paradox? 194 Teleological Suspension 195 Kaufmann 196 Was S.K. self-centred? 197 His ethics and judgement 200 His dedication 203 His uniqueness 209 The martyr 212 Sontag 213 Chapter 4. 216 Exegetical Analysis. The main themes Truth and Subjectivity Suffering - inevitable and unshared Isolation 217 Subjective truth and ethics 219 Paradox 220-222 Dread and the Moment 225-226 S.K.'s Prayers again 228 Suffering in Fear and Trembling 233 CONTENTS Conclusion 234 Postscript 235-236 A Bonhoeffer Mention 237-241 Bonhoeffer references 242 A survey of suffering areas in all the works 243-254 Brief appendix - Husserl. Heidegger & Sartre 255-256 Study Material Omitted 257-258 References 259-270 Bibliography 271-277 Publishers' names unavailable 278 A STUDY OF SUFFERING IN THE THOUGHT OF S0REN AABYE KIERKEGAARD INTRODUCTION liThe danger is not lest the soul should doubt whether there is any Bread, but lest, by a lie, it should persuade itself that it is not hungry. It can only persuade itself of this by lying, for the reality of its hunger is not a belief, it is a certaintyll. Simone Weil The hunger of the soul is the existentialist suffering of the believer. Existentialism is that force by which the participant in life decides, acts, philosophises. Even­ tually he takes hold of the freedom of will to choose. He leaps from subjective drive. Beside him the spectator with his detached and distant commentary is only of academic interest. For the dedicated existentialist, the logical sense of objectivity has little connection with the IIdivine assignment of suffering entrusted to Christians ll1 for whom IIsearching leads only to error. Obedience is the sole way to truth ll . 2 He refers to the suffering obedience of subje~tive truth which is the heart of Kierkegaard1s massive tome, 'Concluding Unscientific Postscript I. The Goal is Truth through Suffering. S~ren Aabye Kierkegaard taught and lived the belief that only in one's own subjective existential experience was truth to be found. This and the will to decide freely to accept, act, exert the renowned 'leap', is what matters, for the cardinal rule of existentialism is that man is only what he makes of himself and believes in himself, and freely chooses to make of, and believe in, himself. -2- In Kierkegaard the paradox of life is always present. The suffering 'fear and trembling', which he stresses, arises from dialetical tension when the force of committed, willed, personal choice overrules or enriches any other choice. It permeates the existential predicament and is a situation unlikely to resolve itself. The hallmark of existential suffering is that, whether chosen or im- posed by circumstances, it possesses the biblical II qu iet­ ness and confidence ll of complete calm. All suffering is a paradox. Stress and peace are intertwined. Jesus cries out from the cross, but Jesus never rails, as did His tormentors, who were observers, not existentialists. The Dialetic is an Accepted Choice through Freedom. The dialetic of existence tends towards varying degrees of misery, demonstrated in Scripture, literature and his­ tory. Kierkegaard asks for honesty, not bitterness, because no deceit is possible during emotional crucifix­ ion. As Simone Weil writes: IIWe are forced to recognise as real what we would not even have believed Possible." 3 This goal with its grandeur of, existential suffering is the ultimately totally free positive objective result of chosen subjectiVity. Far from the uncertain ephemeral speculation of Hegelian-type philosophising, the existen­ tialist accepts that he is his existence, rejecting any theory that suffering is a form of punishment. He sees it as an enriching stimulus, the seal of God's approval, the means to an end. Christ's chosen suffering saved the world; Handel's period of suffering produced "Messiah"; Job out of anguish became a highly-publicised positive example of patience. Kierkegaard's suffering gave thinkers the intellectual evangelism of existentialism. In every case existential suffering indicates choice. By choos- ing a life of responsibility, Job chose suffering. By choosing even to love, we choose the inevitability of -3- suffering. Each category has the paradox, in subjective 1i vi ng . Some Examples, invariably criticised. Reincarnation, the religion of hundreds of millions, reflects the cleansing of suffering. In ancient Israel, Lot travelled East after choosing the well-watered Jordan. Abraham's hardier suffering existence led to glory. Moses, Mother Theresa, David, all men and women of stature, have suffered. Muhammad suffered deep grief in the loss of his beloved wife. In every case the freedom of their love became the paradoxical freedom of their suffering. Being opposed to straight-forward logical argument, which discounted feeling and intuition, Kierkegaard carried the unfulfilled longings of typical Romanticism into philoso­ phical maturity. Romanticism had been at its height in Europe during the late 1700's and its suffering content either found release through dramatic irony or was avoided in the escapism of many Romantic writers. Existentialists, encouraged by the suffering of the lonely Christ, or the seeking Buddha leaving wife, chilO, and luxury, have to live with the charge that they always imagine that they are right. Jesus was accused of having a devil. It is interesting to study the portrait sketch of Kierkegaard 4 at the zenith of his suffering, in the Corsair periodical, with which he came into serious con­ flict. He, too, gave the impression of megalomania. And Moses, above, faced rebellion because he knew he was right to lead men through suffering. Identification. The religious existentialist is difficult to understand. Each reader must work out his own solution because -4- Kierkegaard's tortuous thoughts b~co~e a polemic. Such writers are bound to leave their marks because the thinkers, whom they in turn have confused, will be con­ frontedby the paradox of God's suffering made their own, which for Kierkegaard is the highest category of calling amongst believers. This helps to explain why the man Jesus, who is not once recorded as having laughed, appeals to millions as their Saviour, for as Dr. Diogenes AlIen says,5 the paradox of the cross always confronts one in Kierkegaard, and is always relevent because of the paradox of suffering life that no-one can deny. Sufffering is a great leveller. Itis the point of identification of all men with their suffering God. It is the common denomi­ nator, the basic ingredient, the link between the Almighty and each individual. The Relevance of Existential Suffering. Regrettably, the word existentialist is not commonplace. Very few existentialist groups exist. Death, for example; is kept remote, instead of being taught as the most im­ portant day of one's life. M~n must will to choose to pass through the final suffering with all fear and doubt removed. Teachers should prepare students of religion for the existential vitality of death, so that, when the paradox of life is at last offered up to God, it will be a reflexion of His own Passion.
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