Continental Philosophy Review (2006) 39:435–464 Ó Springer 2007 DOI 10.1007/s11007-007-9042-9 Kierkegaard, mysticism, and jest: The story of little Ludvig CHRISTOPHER A. P. NELSON Department of Philosophy, South Texas College, P.O. Box 9701, McAllen, TX, 78502- 9701, USA (E-mail:
[email protected]) Abstract. Throughout his authorship, Kierkegaard appears remarkably uninterested in the tradition of Christian mysticism. Indeed, in the only two places in the authorship where he broaches the topic directly, the discussion is disclaimed in such a way as to suggest that Kierkegaard really has nothing to say about it at all. However, attending to the successive incarnations of the character(s) named ‘‘Ludvig’’ throughout the authorship – an appellation that harbors an especially self-referential dimension for Kierkegaard – the present paper attempts to elucidate what may, with due reservation, be referred to as the mystical element in KierkegaardÕs thought. The ultimate yield of this endeavor is a vision of ‘‘mysticism’’ that is more act than thought oriented, and a vision of the author ‘‘Kierkegaard’’ that is more delightful than melancholy. Key words: kierkegaard, mysticism, jest As with certain bird cries, we hear a mystic only in the stillness of the night; for this reason a mystic generally does not have as much significance for his noisy contemporaries as for the listening kin- dred spirit in the stillness of history after the passage of time. Søren Kierkegaard (JP, 3:2796)1 But no well-informed writer has gone so far as to affirm that S.K. actually was a mystic, in defiance of his own assertion to the con- trary.