Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects Living within the Sacred Tension: Paradox and Its Significance for Christian Existence in the Thought of Søren Kierkegaard Matthew Thomas Nowachek Marquette University Recommended Citation Nowachek, Matthew Thomas, "Living within the Sacred Tension: Paradox and Its Significance for Christian Existence in the Thought of Søren Kierkegaard" (2016). Dissertations (2009 -). 680. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/680 LIVING WITHIN THE SACRED TENSION: PARADOX AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR CHRISTIAN EXISTENCE IN THE THOUGHT OF SØREN KIERKEGAARD by Matthew T. Nowachek, B.A. A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin December 2016 ABSTRACT LIVING WITHIN THE SACRED TENSION: PARADOX AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR CHRISTIAN EXISTENCE IN THE THOUGHT OF SØREN KIERKEGAARD Matthew T. Nowachek, B.A. Marquette University, 2016 This dissertation presents an in-depth investigation into the notion of paradox and its significance for Christian existence in the thought of the Danish philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard. The primary aim of the study is to explore and to develop various expressions of paradox in Kierkegaard’s authorship in order to demonstrate the manner by which Kierkegaard employs paradox as a means of challenging his Christendom contemporaries to exist as authentic Christians, and more specifically to enter into the existential state I am identifying in this project as living within the sacred tension. With this aim in mind, I begin with a discussion of Kierkegaard’s ethico-religious task in response to his Christendom culture and I provide a broad characterization of the notion of sacred tension as the telos of this task. For the majority of the study I then focus on four different expressions of paradox in Kierkegaard’s thought. These four expressions are: paradox that is associated with the faith of Abraham (as presented in Fear and Trembling), paradox that is associated with the nature of the self and the task of selfhood (as presented in The Sickness unto Death), paradox that is associated with the God-man (as presented in Philosophical Fragments, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, and Practice in Christianity), and paradox that is associated with Christian love (as presented in Works of Love). In addition to arguing that Kierkegaard employs these expressions of paradox to help usher his contemporaries into a state of sacred tension, I also argue that such sacred tension can be understood in terms of various concrete Christian virtues. In this respect, I claim that Kierkegaard’s ethico-religious task is not merely negative or deconstructive in nature, but rather it is infused with the robust positive content associated with Kierkegaard’s particular understanding of Christianity. Viewing Kierkegaard’s thought and writings in this manner helps to reaffirm the significance of the notion of paradox in Kierkegaard’s thought and to highlight the value of the notion of sacred tension for a reassessment of both Kierkegaard’s existentialism and its contemporary implications. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Matthew T. Nowachek, B.A. Every proper attempt to acknowledge one’s gratitude should perhaps begin with an apology. Over the years leading up to the completion of this dissertation I have received a wealth of support from a great number of individuals. It is thus most certainly the case that I have forgotten to include many names in what follows. I sincerely apologize for this shortcoming, but at the same time I find it beautiful and humbling that the circle of those to whom I owe a debt of gratitude extends well beyond the limited reach of my own fallible memory. This study is the conclusion of a long process that began nearly two decades ago in the philosophy department of Bethel University. It was there that the fire for philosophy was first lit in me and fanned into flames by good friendships and excellent teaching. In particular, I would like to thank my dialogue partners Joshua Bronson, Joshua Burden, and Ronnie “Isak” de Vries as well as my instructors David Dudrick, Andy Gustafson, Don Postema, and Paul Reasoner. I am especially grateful to my advisor David C. Williams for being an inspiring teacher and a concrete example of what it means to strive in Socratic fashion to care for one’s soul and for the souls of others. It has been an honor to join him in climbing the peaks, both figuratively and literally, in the practice of philosophy. As a brief aside, I would like to thank C. Stephen Evans. Oddly enough, it was a pile of dusty cassette tapes that I happened to stumble across in the back of a dark library in an old castle nestled in the mountains of Mittersill, Austria and on which was recorded a lecture series by Evans on Kierkegaard that was largely responsible for the beginning of my fascination with the great Dane. The impression these lectures left on me has lived on long after the tapes themselves have run their course. Furthermore, I owe a great debt of gratitude to the philosophy department at Marquette University. I would like to thank the department secretary Beth O’Sullivan for her tireless work on my behalf as well as all of the faculty members under whom I have been given the incredible opportunity to study and to develop as a scholar. The department is gifted with a host of excellent teachers and mentors from whom I have received what has truly been a first-rate education. I would also like to thank the Smith Family Foundation for granting me a fellowship that allowed me to live in Sweden and study in Denmark for a good portion of my dissertation work. Finally, this process would not have been possible without the support of my Marquette colleagues. In particular, I would like to thank Jered Janes, Chad Kleist, Ryan Knott, Adriana Kowal, Agust Magnusson, Catlyn Origitano, Daniel Vecchio, Damon Watson, Kyle Whitaker, and Zachary Young. In addition, I am grateful for the opportunity I was provided to serve for two years as a guest researcher at the Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre (SKC) in Copenhagen, Denmark. First off, I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the center’s secretary, Bjarne Still Laurberg, without whose ceaseless work and support nothing would ever have been accomplished. There were several people who were kind enough to share an office with me and who were always willing to toss around ideas. In ii particular, I would like to thank Deidre Green, Susanne Rimstad, and Takaya Suto. I am also grateful for all of the student researchers at the SKC, and particularly Rocco Fava and Trine-Amalie Fog Christiansen for their infectuous positive energy. Finally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to the faculty at the SKC with whom I have had a good deal of contact during my time there, including Joakim Garff, Arne Grøn, Bruce Kirmmse, René Rosfort, K. Brian Söderquist, and Jon Stewart. A special thank you is due to Niels Jørgen Cappelørn, whose kindness, patience, and excitement in responding to my often-times sophomoric Kierkegaard and Danish questions was never ending. With respect to this particular study, there are several individuals who I would like to thank. First, a great thanks is due to my dissertation committee members: Thomas C. Anderson, John Jones, and Pol Vandevelde. I am grateful for their time and effort, and for giving me the privilege of studying for several fruitful years under their guidance. Second, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Iben Damgaard from the University of Copenhagen who served as my supervisor during my time in Denmark and who not only kindly read everything that I sent to her but who also took many hours out of her busy schedule to meet with me. Her excellent comments and encouragement are deeply appreciated. Last, but not least, I would like to offer a deeply heart-felt thanks to my advisor at Marquette, Noel S. Adams. His is the first name on the list of secondary sources in my bibliography, which is appropriate because he is also first on the list of those who have influenced me most in how I read and understand Kierkegaard. I am grateful for the countless hours he has spent in dialogue with me, for the support he has given both me and my family along each and every step of this process, and most of all for his friendship. It would not be an exaggeration to say that although studying Kierkegaard was the reason that Helena and I left our home in Sweden for Milwaukee, it was largely because of Noel that we found a new home at Marquette. Finally, I would like to thank my closest friends and my family for their unceasing support throughout my work. This project would not have been possible without my incredible friendships in Milwaukee, particularly those with the Browns, the other Browns, the Jacobs, the Johnsons, the Maxceys, the Sharkeys, and the Wilkes. In addition, Helena’s family has served as a solid foundation throughout our time in Sweden. Thank you to Paul and Birgitta, Klin and Joel, Jennifer and Viktor. Thank you as well to my family, to Beth and Dustin as well as to my parents Al and Mary for their constant support and encouragement. Furthermore, I am overwhelmingly thankful for my boys, Eskil and Eyvind. Although Papa was at times exhausted because of these two, they were nevertheless a constant source of joy and motivation as well as a much-needed reminder that sometimes the best way to move forward in my work was simply to turn off the computer and get back to the serious task of play.