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Kierkegaard's Existential Theory of the Political Kierkegaard's Existential Theory of the Political A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the joint degree of PhD in: Philosophy and Politics, at Lancaster University. Thom as W olstenholm e (MSc, MA, BA). 17/06/2014. ProQuest Number: 11003584 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003584 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Kierkegaard’s Existential Theory of the Political. Thomas Wolstenholme. Declaration of the thesis: This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. I declare that all work in this thesis is my own, and has not been submitted in substantially the same form for the award of a higher degree elsewhere. Chapter five of this thesis (“Kierkegaard’s ‘Aesthetic Age’ and its Political Consequences”) has been published, by the exact same name and in a very similar version in Alison Assiter and Margherita Tonon’s (Eds.) Kierkegaard and the Political (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012), pp. 63-82. Candidate Name: Thomas Wolstenholme. Signed: Degrees held: 2008-2009 Master of Science in: Sociological Research LancasterUniversity 2007-2008 Master of Arts in: Philosophy Lancaster University 2004-2007 Bachelor of Arts in: Philosophy, Politics and Economics Lancaster University Thesis title: Kierkegaard’s Existential Theory of the Political. Thesis submitted for:The degree of joint PhD in Politics and Philosophy, Lancaster University. Date submitted:06/2014. A b stract: Few, if any scholars have seriously investigated whether Kierkegaard had a theory of the political or not. This thesis questions the absence of this literature. The central argument of this thesis is that Kierkegaard developed a theory of the political which was principally grounded in his existentialist concerns and commitments. I shall argue, furthermore, that Kierkegaard’s existential theory of the political is; systematically laid out; intriguing and original; comprehensive and detailed; theoretically grounded; consistent throughout the authorship (and with other key concepts of Kierkegaard’s philosophy); justifies an existentially-motivated kind of political activism; and hence that is non-trivially responsive to external change; and that is inextricably linked with Kierkegaard’s social theory. These arguments contribute to Kierkegaard scholarship by clarifying exactly what the ‘political elements’ of Kierkegaard’s thought are. Furthermore, the thesis responds to numerous critics of the political dimension to Kierkegaard’s work, who would claim that either Kierkegaard’s political insights are ‘scattered’ and unsystematic, ‘essentially individualistic’, or ‘impotent with regards to worldly change’. I also contribute to Kierkegaard scholarship by arguing that any and all of Kierkegaard’s involvements with politics can be seen as deriving from his principal existentialist concerns. Aside from contributing to Kierkegaard scholarship, this thesis also opens up the possibility of bringing Kierkegaard into contemporary debates concerning theories of the political. ‘How might Kierkegaard’s existential theory of the political inform contemporary political thought’ is but one example of the kinds of questions that are raised by this thesis. Kierkegaard's Existential Theory of the Political. Thomas Wolstenholme. Contents Page Kierkegaard's Existential Theory of the Political: Introduction. 1 Outline of the thesis. 5 CHAPTER ONE: Theory o f th e political. 19 Introduction. 19 [Figure 1.1: Working Taxonomy of Key Political Terms.] 21 1.1 Political policy: John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. 24 1.1.1 John Locke. 24 1.1.2 Jean-Jacques Rousseau. 28 1.2 Theory of the political and ontology. 31 1.3 Locke: Politics and Theology. 35 1.3.1 Locke as 'political theology'. 36 1.4 Kierkegaard's political contribution. 46 CHAPTER TWO: Kierkegaard's Politics and Contemporary Reception. 53 Introduction. 53 2.1 The 'Modern' Period. 56 2.2 Kierkegaard's lack of a positive political programme. 59 2.2.1 Lack of a positive political programme - a sympathetic approach. 62 2.2.2 - Lack of a positive political programme - a deficiency. 65 2.3 Concluding Remarks. 70 CHAPTER THREE: Kierkegaard's Theory of the Political. 76 Introduction. 76 3.1 An Open Letter. 77 3.2 The Point of View for My Work as an Author. 89 3.2.1 The Point of View. 90 3.2.2 Politics as 'sensate' authority. 98 Kierkegaard's Existential Theory of the Political. Thomas Wolstenholme. 3.3 Luther: Reform and Counter-reform. 104 3.3.1 Kierkegaard's Anthropology. 106 3.3.2 Luther: Kierkegaard's case study of spiritual reform. 116 3.4 Concluding remarks. 133 3.4.1 Key tenets of Kierkegaard's theory of the political. 134 ['Table of Key tenets of Kierkegaard's theory of the political'.] 139 CHAPTER FOUR: From the Papers. 142 Introduction. 142 4.1 The Review of Only a Fiddler. 144 4.1.1 An analysis of From the Papers. 145 4.2 Why did 'the reviewer' attack Andersen? 156 4.3 A political reading of From the Papers. 174 CHAPTER FIVE: Kierkegaard's 'Aesthetic' Age and its Political Consequences. 184 Introduction. 184 5.1 An 'aesthetic' age. 186 5.2 The'present age'. 193 5.2.1 The distinctive characteristics of 'the present age'. 195 5.3 Concluding remarks. 206 CHAPTER SIX: Kierkegaard and Political Reform. 213 Introduction. 213 6.1 Kierkegaard's 'attack' on established Christendom: in-line with the authorship. 216 6.2 Kierkegaard's 'attack' - political or existential? 223 6.3 Conclusions of Kierkegaard's 'attack'. 238 6.3.1 Kierkegaard's theory of the political; and contemporary Kierkegaard scholarship 244 reconsidered. Kierkegaard's Existential Theory of the Political. Thomas Wolstenholme. CHAPTER SEVEN: 'G enuine' Politics and 'G enuine' Sociability. 253 Introduction. 253 7.1 Theodor Adorno's critical involvement with Kierkegaard. 257 7.1.1 Adorno's: Kierkegaard: Construction of the Aesthetic. 257 7.1.1.2 My interpretation of Kierkegaard's authorship. 258 7.2 Adorno's critique of Works of Love. 263 7.2.1 Adorno's first critique: Kierkegaard's existential theory of the political is 268 impotent with regards to social inequality. Response - 'concessionary' politics. [Figure 7.2.1 - Flow chart depicting Kierkegaard's prioritarianism and its 279 real-world implications.] 7.2.2 Adorno's second critique: Kierkegaard's existential theory of the political 282 leads to instrumentalist social relations and is thus is anti-social. Response - the relations between human beings are 'mutually informative'; not 'instrumentalist'. 7.3 The'Kierkegaardian self'. 284 7.3.1 The Kierkegaardian self: Individualist. 284 [Figure 7.3.1: The 'Individualist's' account - Individual God Neighbour.] 288 7.3.2 - The Kierkegaardian self: instrumentalist. 289 [Figure 7.3.2: An 'Instrumentalist' account - Individual Neighbour God.] 292 7.3.3 - The Kierkegaardian self: 'God' and 'other' as 'Mutually informative'. 293 [Figure 7.3.3: A 'Mutually informative' account - 294 Individual God/Neighbour.] 7.3.4 - The Kierkegaardian self: social then individual. 295 7.3.5 - Conclusions regarding the Kierkegaardian self. 297 7.4 Kierkegaard: 'genuine' politics and 'genuine' sociability. 301 7.4.1 Concluding Remarks. 311 CHAPTER EIGHT: C onclusion. 313 Bibliography. 324 End. 354 Page 1 of 354. Kierkegaard’s Existential Theory of the Political. Thomas Wolstenholme. Kierkegaard’s Existential Theory of the Political: Introduction.1 Few, if any scholars have seriously investigated whether Kierkegaard had a theory of the political or not. This thesis questions the absence of this literature. In fact, the central argument of this thesis is that Kierkegaard developed an existential theory of the political. To be fair to the excellent work of contemporary Kierkegaard scholars, many have convincingly argued against the tradition of believing that Kierkegaard is an apolitical theorist. Yet even amongst this contemporary literature the idea that there might be theoretical foundations for Kierkegaard’s political thought is still a highly contested position. If many contemporary Kierkegaard scholars fail to attribute a ‘theory of the political’ to Kierkegaard, one could be forgiven for assuming that this must be because Kierkegaard does not have one. In opposition to this interpretation, however, I argue that Kierkegaard does develop a theory of the political - one that it is fundamentally based on his primary interest in the spiritual and existential development of the individual. 1 1 would like to express my sincere thanks to both Dr. Graham M. Smith and to Professor Alison Stone for their help and guidance, the result of which is visible throughout this thesis. This thesis has also greatly benefited from the helpful comments and suggestions of Dr. Clare Carlisle, and Dr. Gavin Hyman. I would also like to thank the ESRC for granting me a generous studentship, without which this thesis would not have been possible. Page 2 of 354. Kierkegaard’s Existential Theory of the Political. Thomas Wolstenholme. That Kierkegaard was first and foremost interested in existence [ tilblivelse ] is not an uncontroversial view. Kierkegaard’s existential commitments are well-known and arguably occupy his entire authorship. But I would also argue that Kierkegaard has much to say about the legitimate scope and role of politics. In fact, I shall argue that Kierkegaard explicitly delineates a theory of the political - an ontological characterisation of what should be considered as ‘political’ entities and by implication non-political entities, as well as a theory of how the two ought to relate.
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