DOCSLIB.ORG

Kierkegaard's Socratic Task

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Kierkegaard's Socratic Task Kierkegaard’s Socratic Task by Paul Muench B.A., Reed College, 1990 B.A., University of Oxford, 1993 M.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1999 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the School of Arts and Sciences (Department of Philosophy) in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2006 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Paul Muench It was defended on April 14, 2006 and approved by James Allen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh Tony Edwards, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Pittsburgh Stephen Mulhall, Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, New College, University of Oxford Dissertation Directors: James Conant, Professor of Philosophy, University of Chicago John McDowell, University Professor of Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh Copyright © 2006 by Paul Muench All rights reserved Kierkegaard’s Socratic Task Paul Muench, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh, 2006 The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) conceived of himself as the Socrates of nineteenth century Copenhagen. Having devoted the bulk of his first major work, The Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates, to the problem of the historical Socrates, Kierkegaard maintained at the end of his life that it is to Socrates that we must turn if we are to understand his own philosophical undertaking: “The only analogy I have before me is Socrates; my task is a Socratic task.” The overall aim of my dissertation is to examine and critically assess this claim, and ultimately to argue that the Socratic nature of Kierkegaard’s endeavor finds its fullest expression in the activity and writings of one of his best-known literary creations, Johannes Climacus, the pseudonymous author of Philosophical Fragments and Concluding Unscientific Postscript. The first part of my dissertation addresses Kierkegaard’s own status as a Socratic figure. I examine Kierkegaard’s claim that his refusal to call himself a Christian—in a context where it was the social norm to do so—is methodologically analogous to Socrates’ stance of ignorance. I also consider how the use of a pseudonymous manner of writing allows Kierkegaard to employ a Socratic method. In the second part of my dissertation I focus on Kierkegaard’s pseudonym Johannes Climacus and his claim that his contemporaries suffer from a peculiar kind of ethical and religious forgetfulness. I argue that Climacus adopts two Socratic stances in order to address this condition. In Philosophical Fragments he adopts the stance of someone who has intentionally “forgotten” the phenomenon of Christianity, whereas in the Postscript he adopts the stance of someone who openly declares that he is not a Christian. In the process, he develops a conception of philosophy that places a premium on self-restraint and an individual’s ability to employ the first personal “I.” As Climacus emerges as Kierkegaard’s Socratic pseudonym par excellence, we obtain two significant results: a deeper understanding of Kierkegaard’s conception of Socrates and Socratic method, and a compelling conception of philosophy rooted in Greek antiquity. iv Kierkegaard’s Socratic Task For B., and in memory of my mother, Maury Johnston Muench (5/8/41-11/24/03) Περὶ δὲ ψυχήν, ὦ ἄριστε, οὐχ ὁ αὐτὸς τρόπος; ἕως μὲν ἂν πονηρὰ ᾖ, ἀνόητός τε οὖσα καὶ ἀκόλαστος καὶ ἄδικος καὶ ἀνόσιος, εἴργειν αὐτὴν δεῖ τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν καὶ μὴ ἐπιτρέπειν ἄλλ΄ ἄττα ποιεῖν ἢ ἀφ΄ ὧν βελτίων ἔσται· φῂς ἢ οὔ; (And isn’t it the same way with the soul, my excellent friend? As long as it’s corrupt, in that it’s foolish, intemperate, unjust and impious, we should restrain it from its appetites, and not allow it to do anything else except what will make it better. Do you say so, or not?) —Gorgias, 505B Socrates var en Dagdriver, der hverken brød sig om Verdenshistorien eller Astronomien…, men havde god Tid og Særhed nok til at bekymre sig om det simple Menneskelige, hvilken Bekymring, besynderligt nok, ansees for Særhed hos Mennesker, medens det derimod slet ikke er sært, at have travlt med Verdenshistorien, Astronomien og andet Saadant. (Socrates was a loafer who cared for neither world history nor astronomy….But he had plenty of time and enough eccentricity to be concerned about the merely human, a concern that, strangely enough, is considered an eccentricity among human beings, whereas it is not at all eccentric to be busy with world history, astronomy, and other such matters.) —Concluding Unscientific Postscript (CUP 83; SKS 7, 82-83) Table of Contents Acknowledgements x Abbreviations xii INTRODUCTION 1 Part One: Kierkegaard as Socratic Figure CHAPTER 1: KIERKEGAARD’S SOCRATIC POINT OF VIEW 5 1.1 The Moment, 10: “My Task” 5 1.2 Kierkegaard’s Socratic Stance: “I am not a Christian” 8 1.3 Socratic Ignorance 12 1.4 Kierkegaard as Writer and Thinker 18 CHAPTER 2: KIERKEGAARD’S SOCRATIC METHOD 22 2.1 Kierkegaard’s Authorship 23 2.2 Kierkegaard’s Aesthetic Production 29 2.3 Indirect Communication and the Illusion of “Christendom” 36 2.4 Socratic Midwifery 47 2.5 Kierkegaard’s Incognito and the Role of “Governance” 55 2.6 The Socratic Nature of Kierkegaard’s Pseudonyms 62 Part Two: Kierkegaard’s Socratic Pseudonym (Johannes Climacus) CHAPTER 3: CLIMACUS’ DIAGNOSIS OF WHAT AILS CHRISTENDOM 76 3.1 Climacus’ Authorship 78 3.2 How Climacus Became an Author 84 3.2.1 Climacus Discovers His Task 85 3.2.2 Climacus Makes a Resolution 87 3.3 Climacus’ Diagnosis and the Need for Indirect Communication 92 3.4 The Comic Fulfillment of Climacus’ Resolution 100 viii CHAPTER 4: CLIMACUS’ SOCRATIC ART OF “TAKING AWAY” 111 4.1 The Difficulty of Reading Fragments 111 4.2 Climacus’ Conception of Philosophy 116 4.2.1 The Preface to Fragments 117 4.2.2 “The Moral” of Fragments 126 4.3 Climacus’ Critique of Beck’s Review of Fragments 131 4.3.1 Beck’s Didacticism 132 4.3.2 Climacus’ Reader and the Condition of Knowing Too Much 141 4.3.3 Climacus’ Art of “Taking Away” 148 4.4 Climacus’ Experiment: A Socratic Framework for Reading Fragments 152 4.4.1 Climacus’ Maieutic Incognito in Fragments 153 4.4.2 Climacus’ Exchanges with the Interlocutor 156 4.4.3 Hypothesis, Intentional Forgetting, and the Poetic 160 4.4.4 Absentmindedness and Awareness 163 CHAPTER 5: CLIMACUS’ SECOND SOCRATIC STANCE 166 5.1 Climacus Concludes His Authorship 167 5.2 Climacus’ Experiment in the Postscript 172 5.3 Existence-Issues, Subjective Thinking, and the Simple Wise Person 179 5.4 Humor, Revocation, and Climacus’ “Understanding with the Reader” 187 CONCLUSION 199 ENDNOTES 204 BIBLIOGRAPHY 305 ix Acknowledgements Many people and institutions have supported me and made possible the writing of this dissertation. I am grateful to the Howard V. and Edna H. Hong Kierkegaard Library for two summer research fellowships and to the Fulbright Program for a pre-doctoral fellowship that enabled me to spend the 2001-02 academic year at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Center at the University of Copenhagen. I want to thank personally Gordon Marino and Cynthia Lund at the Hong Kierkegaard Library, and Niels Jørgen Cappelørn, Bjarne Laurberg Olsen, Mette Skakkebæk, Jon Stewart and Pia Søltoft at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Center for welcoming me to their respective institutions and for the many ways that they assisted me with my research. I also want to thank Williams College for providing me with an office in which I was able to write most of this dissertation and my colleagues in the Williams Philosophy Department for all of their support. At the University of Pittsburgh, Kathy Rivet has been extremely helpful, especially during the last few years when I was no longer in residence. I want to thank James Allen, James Conant, Tony Edwards, John McDowell and Stephen Mulhall for agreeing to serve on my committee. Thanks also to Alexander Nehamas for the time he spent as a committee member. Heda Segvic was also originally a member of my committee and served as my director until her sudden and unexpected death in the spring of 2003. She is missed and I am sure that my project would have benefited from her feedback. James Conant and John McDowell kindly agreed to serve as co-directors after she died. In many respects, this project would never have been possible without the involvement of James Conant. I began my study of Kierkegaard with him, and it was his encouragement and philosophical example more than anything else that helped me to see how some of my own concerns might be philosophically investigated. Tony Edwards has also been my teaching mentor and I am grateful to him for our many spirited discussions about the extent to which philosophy can constitute an x art of living and what role this conception of philosophy can or ought to play in the classroom. I am also grateful to Stephen Mulhall for his timely and helpful feedback on some of my work. For many years, David Berger has been my chief conversation partner; a fellow lover of Socrates and a Thoreauvian extraordinaire, his example and his friendship have been invaluable to me. Ben Eggleston’s friendship and his penchant for discussing everything from web page construction to index funds to 10k runs have also truly helped to keep my spirits up. I am grateful to John-Eric Robinson, my stepbrother, for his moral support and his continued interest in the project. More recently, Brian Söderquist has regularly discussed my work with me and Jon Stewart has been unceasing in his support and encouragement. And if it weren’t for Marjorie LaRowe, I am not sure I would have completed this project.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Militant Liturgies: Practicing Christianity with Kierkegaard, Bonhoeffer, and Weil
    religions Article Militant Liturgies: Practicing Christianity with Kierkegaard, Bonhoeffer, and Weil J. Aaron Simmons Department of Philosophy, Furman University, Greenville, SC 29613, USA; aaron.simmons@furman.edu Abstract: Traditional philosophy of religion has tended to focus on the doxastic dimension of religious life, which although a vitally important area of research, has often come at the cost of philosophical engagements with religious practice. Focusing particularly on Christian traditions, this essay offers a sustained reflection on one particular model of embodied Christian practice as presented in the work of Søren Kierkegaard. After a discussion of different notions of practice and perfection, the paper turns to Kierkegaard’s conception of the two churches: the Church Triumphant and the Church Militant. Then, in light of Kierkegaard’s defense of the latter and critique of the former, it is shown that Kierkegaard’s specific account gets appropriated and expanded in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s account of “costly grace” and “religionless Christianity,” and Simone Weil’s conception of “afflicted love.” Ultimately, it is suggested that these three thinkers jointly present a notion of “militant liturgies” that offers critical and constructive resources for contemporary philosophy of religion. Keywords: Kierkegaard; Bonhoeffer; Weil; philosophy of religion; liturgy; practice; Christianity Citation: Simmons, J. Aaron. 2021. 1. Introduction Militant Liturgies: Practicing It is often the case that philosophical discussions of Christianity overstate the unity Christianity with Kierkegaard, Bonhoeffer, and Weil. Religions 12: by which the Christian traditions operate. In the name of referential precision, perhaps 340. https://doi.org/10.3390/ we should only ever speak of “Christianities” or, as this special issue theme admirably rel12050340 does, “Christian traditions”.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 God Regulates the Church, Even If He Doesn't
    God Regulates the Church, Even If He Doesn’t - Wittgensteinian Philosophy of Religion and Realism Hermen Kroesbergen, University of Pretoria, South Africa Abstract Far from being non‐realism or antirealism, Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion shows the meaning of practices within which the whole weight is in the picture that God speaks. ‘The authority of the community of believers determines what is the word of God’ does not contradict ‘God himself determines what is the word of God.’ As is shown by an example of Peter Winch, the distinction between inside and outside perspectives on religious practices is already given in those practices themselves. Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion does justice to the independent reality of God, without the adjustments proposed by Stephen Mulhall and Andrew Moore. Some people say that God supports same-sex marriages, others say that anything to do with homosexuality is an abomination before God. In some churches both opinions are allowed to stand next to each other, in other churches someone excludes oneself from the church by holding one or the other. God is said to direct the church through His word but does He? A congregation is looking for a new pastor; there are two candidates, both claim to have received a calling from God to this particular congregation; now it is up to the congregation to discern which vocation is true. Often it is the religious community that seems to determine what it is that God says. Wittgensteinian philosopher of religion Gareth Moore, therefore, concludes that, “What is the word of God is determined by the authority of the believing community, and the limits of what may be the word of God are determined by the same authority.”1 On the one hand, this statement does not seem very controversial; on the other hand, this kind of statement has prompted commentators to accuse Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion of non-realism or antirealism.
    [Show full text]
  • Mysticism As an Ethical Form of Life: a Wittgensteinian
    Mysticism as an Ethical Form of Life: A Wittgensteinian Approach to Ethics in the Mystical Instruction of Saints Teresa of Avila and Ignatius of Loyola in dialogue with Michel de Certeau’s Mystical Science by Matthew Ian Dunch A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Regis College and the Graduate Centre for Theological Studies of the Toronto School of Theology. In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Theology awarded by Regis College and the University of Toronto. © Copyright by Matthew Ian Dunch 2018 Mysticism as an Ethical Form of Life: A Wittgensteinian Approach to Ethics in the Mystical Instruction of Saints Teresa of Avila and Ignatius of Loyola in dialogue with Michel de Certeau’s Mystical Science Matthew Ian Dunch Master of Theology Regis College and the University of Toronto 2018 Abstract This thesis argues that there is an ethical development inherent in the mystical pedagogy of Ignatius of Loyola and Teresa of Avila. The various stages of mystical development are read through the lens of Wittgenstein as ethical forms of life premised on an absolute good. Through mystical pedagogy one simultaneously develops the language and the praxis of mystical forms of life. Mystical forms of life, though seeking the transcendent, are historically and socially conditioned. This historical and social conditioning is explored principally through Michel de Certeau’s account of spiritual spaces. ii Contents Chapter One: Introduction ......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Kierkegaard on the Transformative Power of Art Antony Aumann Northern Michigan University Aaumann@Nmu.Edu
    Kierkegaard on the Transformative Power of Art Antony Aumann Northern Michigan University aaumann@nmu.edu 1 Kierkegaard’s Therapeutic Project Kierkegaard’s project is first and foremost a therapeutic one. Although he makes theological points and defends philosophical theses, he is not primarily a theologian or philosopher. Instead, he is a “physician of the soul.”1 He aims to help us get better, existentially speaking—to cure us of our spiritual ills. And what he thinks we need to overcome our anxiety and despair is a transformation. In particular, we have to turn our backs on the goal of self-gratification. We must devote our lives to God or the Good rather than ourselves. In sum, Kierkegaard’s prescription for our existential ailments is that we leave behind “the aesthetic life” and head in an ethical or religious direction.2 The central question facing Kierkegaard is thus a practical one. How can he inspire such transformations? How can he get his readers to change who they are at a fundamental level? Following Ryan Kemp and others, I will argue that reason is not the proper tool for the task.3 No mere argument, even if cogent or sound, can move people in the way Kierkegaard wants to move them. Yet, I will maintain that where reason fails, art can succeed. Indeed, to the degree that Kierkegaard ever inspires transformations, it is in virtue of the beauty of his words and the aesthetic appeal of his stories rather than the force of his logic.4 2 Transformational Change To appreciate the challenge facing Kierkegaard, we need to understand the kind of change he wants to effect.
    [Show full text]
  • Kierkegaard's Top Ten Hits #1 Fear and Trembling Do You Remember
    Kierkegaard’s Top Ten Hits #1 Fear and Trembling Do you remember the Biblical story of Abraham taking his son Isaac to be sacrificed to God? Isn’t it shocking to think that God commanded his most faithful servant to commit filicide? And have you ever wondered why Abraham never let Sarah in on his intention to kill their son or why he even obeyed God in the first place? According to Johannes de silentio (John of Silence), the pseudonym under which the book was published, Abraham can be seen either as a delusional murderer or the father of faith. This text extrapolates on the ethical issues of the story, tackling whether Abraham’s actions can be justified and whether there is an Absolute Duty to God. #2 Concept of Anxiety Every human being has experienced what is commonly referred to as anxiety. The word anxiety ​ acts as an umbrella term, referring to a certain state of being. Whether one is experiencing PTSD, a panic attack, or insomnia, these are all anxious states. In this book, Kierkegaard does not go into the specific forms of anxiety, but rather tackles the concept as a whole. He defines it as the actualization of freedom as the possibility for possibility. Although it is treated as a mental illness in modern medicine, the Danish philosopher believed that “pills and powders” cannot erase this fundamental aspect of the human condition. “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom,” he writes. “Whoever has learned to be anxious in the right way has learned the ultimate.” #3 The Sickness Unto Death Death can be defined, in biological terms, as the moment in which the electrical activity of the brain ceases.
    [Show full text]
  • Approaches to Philosophy of Religion: Contemplating the World Or Trying to Find Our Way Home?
    This is a repository copy of Approaches to philosophy of religion: Contemplating the world or trying to find our way home?. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/85283/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Burley, M (2015) Approaches to philosophy of religion: Contemplating the world or trying to find our way home? Religious Studies, 51 (2). 221 - 239. ISSN 0034-4125 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412514000377 Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version - refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher’s website. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing eprints@whiterose.ac.uk including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. eprints@whiterose.ac.uk https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Approaches to philosophy of religion: contemplating the world or trying to find our way home? MIKEL BURLEY School of Philosophy, Religion and the History of Science, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK e-mail: m.m.burley@leeds.ac.uk Abstract: What is the point of philosophy of religion? Is it to help us find the right path in life, with the philosopher as guide and mentor? Or is it, as D.
    [Show full text]
  • Andrew Nam Phd.Pdf (1000.Kb)
    ABSTRACT Kierkegaard’s Dialectic of the One and the Many: A Platonic Quest for Existential Unity Andrew S. Nam, Ph.D. Mentor: C. Stephen Evans, Ph.D. The dissertation argues that Kierkegaard’s major philosophical works overall offer faith in Christ as the only genuine solution to ‘the problem of the one and the many.’ The problem lies with the apparently contradictory properties of ‘being’ (e.g., universal/particular, infinite/finite, etc.), that—speaking most generally—everything has the same being insofar as it exists and yet each thing has a different being, its own being, from every other. The solution then must be one of ‘dialectical unity,’ the kind of unity that validates both contradictories equally. Kierkegaard argues that the one/many problem is really the problem of freedom, for the very consciousness of the contradiction arises from sinning against God, our self-conscious misrelation of ‘being’ by loving the finite infinitely. Therefore, unity cannot be obtained at the theoretical—metaphysical- epistemological—level, but rather, must be practically realized by becoming a dialectically unified self, achieving ‘existential unity.’ To explain the thesis, I conceptually reconstruct Kierkegaard’s stages of existence theory in terms of this dialectical problem: the contradiction between the aesthetic (capable of affirming particularity only) and the ethical (universality) gets resolved in a higher dialectical unity, the religious. Kierkegaard describes faith in Christ as the self’s final telos, the highest form of existential unity, explaining the final religious stage by comparing and contrasting Christian categories of existence with the corresponding philosophical categories in Plato’s works, specifically meant to address the one/many problem.
    [Show full text]