Kierkegaard and the Limits of Thought
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Robert R. Cook S~Ren Kierkegaard
EQ 87:4 (1987), 311-327 Robert R. Cook S~ren Kierkegaard: Missionary to Christendom It was, we understand, Professor Gordon Rupp who coined the usejUl word 'rebunk' to denote a more positive activity than the much more common practice of 'debunking' ideas and people. Mr Cook, a teapher at the Scott Theological College in Kenya, offers an essay which falls into this helpful category of showing us what we may learn from a figure who has not always been appreciated by evangelical Christians. I. A Reappraisal Evangelicals have tended to be very wary of Kierkegaard. His profound influence on the early Barth is well known and the consequent Neo-Orthodox obsessions with God as utterly trans cendent and revelation as irrational and non-propositional have been profoundly regretted. Similarly Bultmann's lamentable disinterest in the Jesus of history can clearly be traced back to Kierkegaard,1 In fact a wide variety of modernist themes are embryonically present in lesser known strands of his thought. For example, does not the following sound like an extract from a Tillich sermon?: '.. while the jesting phrase winds its way drolly through the rest of the conversation, the speaker may privately have a rendezvous with the deity, who is present as soon as the uncertainty of all things is thought infinitely.'2 Or when Kierkegaard asserts that the sincere idol worshipper is enjoying a relationship with the living God for ' ... if only the mode of this relationshp is in the truth, the individual is in the truth even if it should happen to be thus related to what is not true',3 he is surely an unwitting precursor of such religious pluralists asJ. -
Kierkegaard on Selfhood and Our Need for Others
Kierkegaard on Selfhood and Our Need for Others 1. Kierkegaard in a Secular Age Scholars have devoted much attention lately to Kierkegaard’s views on personal identity and, in particular, to his account of selfhood.1 Central to this account is the idea that a self is not something we automatically are. It is rather something we must become. Thus, selfhood is a goal to realize or a project to undertake.2 To put the point another way, while we may already be selves in some sense, we have to work to become real, true, or “authentic” selves.3 The idea that authentic selfhood is a project is not unique to Kierkegaard. It is common fare in modern philosophy. Yet Kierkegaard distances himself from popular ways of thinking about the matter. He denies the view inherited from Rousseau that we can discover our true selves by consulting our innermost feelings, beliefs, and desires. He also rejects the idea developed by the German Romantics that we can invent our true selves in a burst of artistic or poetic creativity. In fact, according to Kierkegaard, becom- ing an authentic self is not something we can do on our own. If we are to succeed at the project, we must look beyond ourselves for assistance. In particular, Kierkegaard thinks, we must rely on God. For God alone can provide us with the content of our real identi- ties.4 A longstanding concern about Kierkegaard arises at this point. His account of au- thentic selfhood, like his accounts of so many concepts, is religious. -
(Modern Philosophy) Part I: Fichte to Hegel 9. Walter Benjamin, Der
Notes 1 Idealism and the Justification of the Image 1. J.G. Fichte, The Vocation of Man (New York: Bobbs Merrill, 1956), p.80 (adapted). 2. Idem, The Science of Knowledge (New York: Appleton, Century Crofts, 1970), p.188. 3. Fichte (1956), pp.81f. 4. Ibid., pp.98f. 5. Ibid., pp.124f. 6. Ibid., p.147. 7. For example, the so-called 'Atheismusstreit'. See: F. Copleston, A History of Philosophy, Vol. V, II (Modern Philosophy) Part I: Fichte to Hegel (New York: Doubleday, 1965), pp.lOOff. 8. Friedrich Schlegel, Kritische Schriften (Miinchen: Carl Hanser, 1956), p.46. 9. Walter Benjamin, Der Begriff der Kunstkritik in der Deutschen Romantik in Gesammelten Schriften 1:1 (Frankfurt am Main, 1972), p.26. 10. Quoted in Benjamin (1972), p.37. 11. F. Schlegel, Lucinde (Stuttgart: Reclam, 1963), p.35. 12. F.J.W. Schelling, System of Transcendental Idealism (Charlottesville: Uni versity of Viriginia Press, 1978), p.219. 13. Ibid., p.232. 14. Henrik Steffens, Inledning til Philosophiske Forelasninger i K9benhavn (1803) (New edn) K0benhavn: Gyldendal, 1905), p.21. 15. Ibid., pp.21f. 16. Ibid., p.22. 17. One of the best summaries of Grundtvig's thought in English remains E.L. Allen, Bishop Grundtvig: A Prophet of the North (London: James Clarke, 1949). James Clarke have also published (more recently) an anthology of Grundtvig's writings. A sign of increasing Anglo-Saxon awareness of Grundtvig's significance is the recently formed Anglo Danish conference Grundtvig and England. 18. Henning Fenger, Kierkegaard: The Myths and Their Origins (Newhaven: Yale University Press, 1980), p.84. 19. -
Søren Kierkegaard's View of Faith Found in Fear And
SØREN KIERKEGAARD’S VIEW OF FAITH FOUND IN FEAR AND TREMBLING AND PRACTICE IN CHRISTIANITY David Pulliam Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the Department of Philosophy Indiana University September 2016 ii Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Master’s Thesis Committee __________________________________ Dr. Samuel J.M. Khan, PhD __________________________________ Dr. Cornelis de Waal, PhD __________________________________ Dr. David Pfeifer, PhD iii David Pulliam Søren Kierkegaard’s view of Faith found in Fear and Trembling and Practice in Christianity In this paper I discuss two key works written by Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling and Practice in Christianity, under the pseudonyms Johannes de Silentio and Anti-Climacus respectively. I focus on three questions: what is Johannes view of faith, what is Anti-Climacus’ view of faith and how are these Kierkegaard’s conclusions? I argue that stemming from Johannes’ and Anti-Climacus’ points of view, Kierkegaard’s view of faith is the aligning of the self in a trusting relationship with the God-man. One outside of faith can perceive faith to be a paradox or find faith offensive; one must have faith to avoid offense and overcome the paradox. Chapter 1 focuses on the connection between Kierkegaard and his pseudonyms using his work The Point of View. In this chapter I map out Kierkegaard’s method of communication and the purpose for his use of pseudonyms. Chapter 2 focuses on Johannes’ view of faith in Fear and Trembling. -
Dr. Theodore George Professor and Head Department of Philosophy
Dr. Theodore George Professor and Head Department of Philosophy Texas A&M University [email protected] Areas of specialization: Gadamer, contemporary hermeneutics, contemporary continental ethics, philosophy of art and aesthetics, Hegel, German Idealism and Romanticism Areas of competence: continental European philosophy since Kant, the history of Western philosophy Education: Ph.D. in Philosophy, Villanova University, 2000 Dissertation: “Hegel’s Speculative Theory of Political Life: Community and Tragedy in the Phenomenology of Spirit” Committee: Dr. Dennis Schmidt (Director), Dr. Walter Brogan, Dr. Julie Klein Fulbright Fellow, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 1998–1999 Host: Prof. Dr. Günter Figal M.A. in Philosophy, Villanova University, 1997 B.A. in Philosophy and German (double major), Whitman College, 1993 Cum Laude, with honors and distinction in Philosophy and with distinction in German Thesis: “The Structure of Rebirth in Walden: A Connection with Thus Spoke Zarathustra” Appointments: Head, Department of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, 2015–present (Research leave 2018–2019; Interim Head 2014–2015) Professor of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, 2020–present Associate Professor of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, 2007–2020 Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Texas A&M University, 2001–2007 Honorary Appointment: Senior Researcher, College of Fellows, Philosophy Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia, 2016–present Editorial Positions: Editor, Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy, 2012–present -
Speculative Geology
15 Speculative Geology DALE E. SNOW We are not at peace with nature now. Whether it is the record-setting rain on the east coast or the raging wildfires in the west, distant news of melting permafrost or bleaching coral reefs, or the unexpected eruption of Mount Kilauea a few miles from here, things seem increasingly, and increasingly violently, out of control. I would like to suggest that there are resources in Schelling’s Naturphilosophie we can use in the twenty-first century to help us think differently about both the power of nature and our own relationship to it. Although Schelling saw himself, and was seen by many, as antagonistic toward the mechanical science of his own time, it would be a mistake—and a missed opportunity—to see his view as a mere Romantic reaction. It is a speculative rethinking of the idea of nature itself that finds a place for even those phenomena which seem most distant and alien. Schelling described his philosophy of nature as “speculative physics” both to distinguish it from what he calls the dogmatic or mechanistic model of nature, and to announce a new approach to natural science, concerned with the original causes of motion in nature (SW III: 275). Since every “natural phenomenon … stands in connection with the last conditions of nature” (SW III: 279), speculative physics can bring us to an understanding of nature as a system. Geology presents an illuminating case of this approach, as can be seen from Schelling’s characteristically enthusiastic introduction to a paper published by Henrik Steffens in Schelling’sJournal of Speculative Physics (Zeitschrift für speculative Physik) on the oxidization and deoxidization of the earth.1 After praising Steffens’ work on a new and better founded science of geology, Schelling reflects darkly on the too long dominant mechanical approach to geology. -
Hegel's Philosophy of Biology?
Article title: Hegel’s Philosophy of Biology? A Programmatic Overview Short title: Hegel’s Philosophy of Biology? Article type: Research article Authors: Andrea Gambarotto (corresponding) & Luca Illetterati Affiliation: Institut Supérieur de Philosophie, UC Louvain, Belgium Email: [email protected] Abstract: This paper presents what we call ‘Hegel’s philosophy of biology’ to a target audience of both Hegel scholars and philosophers of biology. It also serves to introduce a special issue of the Hegel Bulletin entirely dedicated to a first mapping of this yet to be explored domain of Hegel studies. We submit that Hegel’s philosophy of biology can be understood as a radicalization of the Kantian approach to organisms, and as prefiguring current philosophy of biology in important ways, especially with regard to the nature of biological organization, the role of teleology in biological explanation, and the relation between life and cognition. 1 I. Introduction The concept of life is a key concept of classical German philosophy as a whole and it would be reductive to think of it only in biological terms. The attention to the notion of life in the post-Kantian debate has a critical function with respect to all forms of dualism that have marked modern philosophy: those between soul and body, thought and world, and therefore, of course, spirit and nature. Life is, in fact, for post-Kantian philosophers, an embodied soul or an animated body, a mind that is never entirely separated from nature. From the very beginning of his philosophical quest, Hegel’s work presents itself as a ‘philosophy of life’, that is a philosophy that must do justice to the multiform experience of life, without falling into the abstract image provided by the intellect (Verstand), where the dynamism and vitality (Lebendigkeit) of concrete reality gets lost. -
A History of German-Scandinavian Relations
A History of German – Scandinavian Relations A History of German-Scandinavian Relations By Raimund Wolfert A History of German – Scandinavian Relations Raimund Wolfert 2 A History of German – Scandinavian Relations Table of contents 1. The Rise and Fall of the Hanseatic League.............................................................5 2. The Thirty Years’ War............................................................................................11 3. Prussia en route to becoming a Great Power........................................................15 4. After the Napoleonic Wars.....................................................................................18 5. The German Empire..............................................................................................23 6. The Interwar Period...............................................................................................29 7. The Aftermath of War............................................................................................33 First version 12/2006 2 A History of German – Scandinavian Relations This essay contemplates the history of German-Scandinavian relations from the Hanseatic period through to the present day, focussing upon the Berlin- Brandenburg region and the northeastern part of Germany that lies to the south of the Baltic Sea. A geographic area whose topography has been shaped by the great Scandinavian glacier of the Vistula ice age from 20000 BC to 13 000 BC will thus be reflected upon. According to the linguistic usage of the term -
Eligible Journals (PDF)
Last Update: 2021-07-08 CUP Open Access Agreement UNIVIE 2020-01-01 until 2022-12-31 Eligible Journals Acta Neuropsychiatrica Acta Numerica Advances in Archaeological Practice Africa African Studies Review Ageing & Society Agricultural and Resource Economics Review AI EDAM AJIL Unbound American Antiquity American Journal of International Law American Journal of Law & Medicine American Political Science Review Americas Anatolian Studies Ancient Mesoamerica Anglo-Saxon England Animal Health Research Reviews Annals of Actuarial Science Annals of Glaciology Annual Review of Applied Linguistics Antarctic Science Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology Antiquaries Journal Antiquity ANZIAM Journal Applied Psycholinguistics APSIPA Transactions on Signal and Information Processing Arabic Sciences and Philosophy Archaeological Dialogues Archaeological Reports Architectural History arq: Architectural Research Quarterly Art Libraries Journal Asian Journal of Comparative Law Asian Journal of International Law Asian Journal of Law and Society ASTIN Bulletin: The Journal of the IAA Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education page 1 of 8 Australian Journal of Environmental Education Australian Journal of Indigenous Education Austrian History Yearbook Behaviour Change Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy Behavioural Public Policy Bilingualism: Language and Cognition Biological Imaging Bird Conservation International BJHS Themes BJPsych Advances BJPsych Bulletin BJPsych International BJPsych Open Brain Impairment Britannia British -
Søren Kierkegaard Newsletter
Søren Kierkegaard Newsletter A Publication of the Howard and Edna Hong Kierkegaard Library NUMBER 66: December 2016 Contents ‘ ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS 2 BOOK REVIEWS The Isolated Self: Irony as Truth and Untruth in Søren Kierkegaard's On the Concept of Irony by Brian Söderquist 2 Reviewed by Will Williams Kierkegaard and the Refusal of Transcendence by Steven Shakespeare Reviewed by Lucas Piccinin Lazzaretti 5 Unto the Abyss of Despair—Kierkegaard’s Aesthetic Sphere of Existence (走向绝望的深渊——克尔凯郭尔的美学生活境界) by Wang Qi (王齐) 6 Reviewed by Chingshun J. Sheu ARTICLES Philosophical Fragments: The Infinite Comic Drama Anthony Eagan 8 Tribute to David Kangas Martin Kavka 16 Tribute to Per Lønning Rune Engebretsen 18 Editor: Gordon D. Marino Editorial Intern: Lucas Shurson Assistant Editorial Intern: Emily Shimota Managing Editor: Eileen Shimota Assistant Editor: Begonya Saez Tajafuerce Assistant Editor: Rafael García Pavón Assistant Editor: Catalina Elena Dobre Assistant Editor: Leo Stan Assistant Editor: Christina Danko 1 ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS Professor Anthony Rudd will deliver the lecture in spring 2017. International Kierkegaard Conference Though an exact date has not been established yet, the Library will host the Eighth International Kierkegaard Conference in the summer of 2018. Dr. Richard Purkarthofer will give the plenary lecture. In addition, for more information from the Hong Kierkegaard Library and other news from Kierkegaard scholars and related groups around the world, please see the website of the Hong Kierkegaard Library at http://wp.stolaf.edu/kierkegaard/. K. Brian Söderquist. The Isolated Self: Irony as Truth and Untruth in Søren Kierkegaard's On the Concept of Irony Copenhagen: Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre and C. -
Søren Kierkegaard Philosophical Fragments, Concluding Scientific Postscript – Excerpts1 PHIL101 Prof
Søren Kierkegaard Philosophical Fragments, Concluding Scientific Postscript – excerpts1 PHIL101 Prof. Oakes updated: 3/18/13 10:24 AM Section III: How do I know? Reading III.5 Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is best known for his interpretation of Christian faith and for his contributions to what would become known as ‘existentialism’. In both cases, a primary focus of Kierkegaard’s work is the immediate quality of our lived experience. What, exactly, is it like to be a human? What constitutes the best form of human life? As we will see, both in the following excerpts and in those in our Ethics section (Section IV), Kierkegaard thinks that our conceptual thought poses a significant potential obstacle to living well – or, more precisely, an obstacle to our living at all, in a sense. Not that Kierkegaard is anti-intellectual in either the theological or ethical context: conceptual thought plays a crucial role in proper human life, he maintains. But we can become “lost” in our concepts, he thinks, and thus fail to live the vital, vivid lives that are otherwise possible for us. In the following passages, Kierkegaard calls attention to this dualism in our relationship with God, the dualism of our objective, conceptual form of thought, on the one hand, and a subjective, “inner” state, on the other. Conceptual thought is the province of reason, and so Kierkegaard first considers belief in God in terms of what reason and the conceptual mind can tell us. Finding this approach unsatisfactory, Kierkegaard then considers belief in God in subjective terms. -
The Idea of the University by Henrik Steffens (1809)
Henrik Steffens held these talks in 1808/1809 in the time of Napoleon’s occupation. The Emperor had just lifted his ban on university teaching. This was, amazingly enough, the formative time of Berlin University, an enterprise that would involve Steffens, Wilhelm von Humboldt, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Savigny and others. The lectures here were addressed to the students, not the administration or the prevailing governmental authorities. That in itself was quite a statement in these times. To Steffens, a university wasn’t supposed to be merely a trade school, but a place that opened you up, allowed you to blossom as an individual and helped you to learn to embrace the things of this world. We bring here in English, his first talk on the theme of what a university might be. --TCR The Idea of the University by Henrik Steffens (1809) Introduction These lectures were held at the commencement of the winter semester 1808/1809. Illness and various duties have, until now, prevented me from putting them into their current form. As my lectures are always extemporaneous, the reader will not find an exact reproduction of them but rather the succession of the ideas they contained. An esteemed person from abroad has spoken about the qualities of German Universities, as they must appear to a foreigner. One of the foremost minds of this nation has elaborated on the theme, deepening our understanding of it as it applies to this country1. It seems to me by no means superfluous to give the students themselves information about academic learning.