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A KIERKEGAARDIAN ETHICS of MYSTICISM by Matthew Brake A A KIERKEGAARDIAN ETHICS OF MYSTICISM by Matthew Brake A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies Committee: ___________________________________________ Director ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Program Director ___________________________________________ Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: _____________________________________ Summer Semester 2019 George Mason University Fairfax, VA A Kierkegaardian Ethics of Mysticism A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Interdisciplinary Studies at George Mason University by Matthew Brake Master of Divinity Regent University, 2009 Director: Meredith Lair, Professor Department of Department of Interdisciplinary Studies Summer Semester 2019 George Mason University Fairfax, VA DEDICATION To my parents, who have made this seemingly unprofitable venture in the Humanities possible, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To Drs. Randi Rashkover and Rachel Jones for your feedback and instruction during my time at George Mason. Also, thank you to Dr. Garry Sparks for stepping in at the last minute to help out. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One: KIERKEGAARD AND MYSTICISM – A DILEMMA .............................. 1 Mysticism and Kierkegaard ............................................................................................. 3 Defining the Mystical ...................................................................................................... 9 Mysticism in the Life of Kierkegaard ............................................................................ 12 Mysticism, the Ethical, and the Life-view ..................................................................... 14 Misunderstanding and Transforming Mysticism ........................................................... 17 Chapter Two: TRANSFIGURING THE AESTHETIC .................................................... 19 Defining the Aesthetic and the Ethical .......................................................................... 19 The Aesthetic in Kierkegaard ..................................................................................... 20 The Ethical in Kierkegaard ........................................................................................ 23 The Ethical in Either/Or Part II ............................................................................. 24 The Ethical in Fear and Trembling ........................................................................ 26 The Ethical in The Concluding Unscientific Postscript ........................................ 28 Working Definition ................................................................................................ 29 Transfiguration ............................................................................................................... 30 First Love and the Weakness of the Aesthetic ........................................................... 32 Transfiguring the First Love in Marriage ................................................................... 34 Chapter Three: MYSTICISM AND THE CURIOUS CASE of ADler ............................ 43 The Aesthetic and the Mystical ...................................................................................... 46 Living for the Moment ............................................................................................... 46 Embracing Actuality and Existence ........................................................................... 49 Choosing Oneself ....................................................................................................... 51 Mysticism, Suicide, and Self-Annihilation ................................................................ 53 The Book on Adler ......................................................................................................... 56 Mysticism and Adler .................................................................................................. 57 iv Adler and the Ethical .................................................................................................. 59 Ethics and Religious Enthusiasm ............................................................................... 62 The Importance of Adler ................................................................................................ 70 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 71 References ......................................................................................................................... 74 v ABSTRACT A KIERKEGAARDIAN ETHICS OF MYSTICISM Matthew Brake, M.A. George Mason University, 2019 Thesis Director: Dr. Meredith Lair This thesis argues that a positive reading of mysticism in the writings of Søren Kierkegaard is possible. I argue that mysticism is capable of the same transfiguration as the aesthetic within Kierkegaard’s thought. Since mysticism is an open and fluid concept and the ethical in Kierkegaard has multiple meanings, I establish the meaning of the mystical in dialogue with William James’ Varieties of Religious. This is followed by a brief description of the various ways the ethical is defined in Kierkegaard, and I established the uniting theme between them all. Through an analysis of Kierkegaard’s Either/Or Part II and The Book on Adler, I establish resonances across Kierkegaard’s corpus that demonstrate that the mystical, like the aesthetic, is made complete and transfigured by the ethical. vi CHAPTER ONE: KIERKEGAARD AND MYSTICISM – A DILEMMA Kierkegaard’s emphasis on the individual’s absolute relation to God has caused many people to wonder if Kierkegaard is himself a mystic. There is, however, some difficulty with giving Kierkegaard the label of “mystic.” Scholars themselves are divided on the topic. Some hold that Kierkegaard was in fact a type of mystic1 while others deny this.2 Still some claim that Kierkegaard was entirely ambivalent about mysticism.3 This lack of consensus can make any writing on the topic of mysticism in Kierkegaard difficult. The purpose of this project is to articulate a positive view on mysticism in the writings of Kierkegaard. More specifically, I will endeavor to show that it is possible to read the Kierkegaardian corpus in a way that opens up the conditions for the possibility of a positive understanding of mysticism in his writings, and through these readings, I suggest that it is possible to begin to articulate an idea of mysticism that is beneficial to the religious life through its “transfiguration” by the ethical. I will do this by focusing on two specific Kierkegaardian works: Either/Or Part II and The Book on Adler. In Either/Or, Kierkegaard’s pseudonym, Judge William, critiques mysticism, accusing it of 1 William H.K. Narum, “Kierkegaard—A Christian Mystic?” Academy: Lutherans in Profession 38 (1982): 85-109. 2 David R. Law, “Kierkegaard’s Anti-Mysticism,” Scottish Journal of Religious Studies 14 (1993): 102- 111. 3 Simon D. Podmore, Struggling with God: Kierkegaard and the Temptation of Spiritual Trial (Cambridge: James Clarke & Co., 2013), 81. 1 being one-sided4 and leading its adherents away from concrete, everyday existence.5 The Book on Adler revolves around Petrus Minor’s critique of a Danish pastor who claimed to have received a direct communication from God but later indicated that he had merely felt a “deep emotion.”6 Kierkegaard criticizes the pastor for his inconsistency, demonstrating that this lack of consistency is due to a deficient ethical development in Adler’s life. However, both of these texts also present the possibility of a positive perspective of mysticism. In Either/Or, Judge William accuses mysticism of leading one away from concrete existence, but a similar charge is laid at the feet of the aesthetic sphere of existence; however, Judge William allows for the possibility of the transfiguration of the aesthetic into ethical, allowing it to become a beneficial part of concrete existence. I will argue that the same possibility may be true of the mystical as well. While one ought to avoid treating the words of the pseudonyms as if they were Kierkegaard’s own thoughts, one does see similar resonances regarding the idea of mysticism throughout Kierkegaard’s writings. From Kierkegaard’s journals, to Concept of Irony, to Either/Or II, to The Book on Adler, one can trace these resonances, and when put into conversation with each other, a much more positive (if at times cautious and ambiguous) picture emerges of the mystical in Kierkegaard’s authorship. 4 Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Part II, ed. and trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna D. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987), 245. 5 Ibid., 247. 6 Søren Kierkegaard, The Book on Adler, ed. and trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998), 123. 2 Mysticism and Kierkegaard When one finds the term “mysticism” in Kierkegaard’s works, one must ask what kind of mysticism this term is referring to. There is a very telling passage in The Concept of Irony that gives the reader an indication of Kierkegaard’s own understanding of the topic.
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