ABSTRACT The Legitimacy of the Comic: Kierkegaard and the Importance of the Comic for His Ethics and Theology Will Williams, Ph.D. Mentor: Paul Martens, Ph.D. While some consider the comic to be a trivial subject, fit mainly for amusement or distraction, Søren Kierkegaard disagrees. This dissertation examines Kierkegaard’s understanding of the nature of the comic and how he believes even the triviality of comic jest to be deeply tied to ethical and theological earnestness. First, I examine Kierkegaard’s understanding of the comic, irony, and humor, drawing primarily from Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846). I argue that, for Kierkegaard, the comic is a contradiction or misrelation that is essentially though not absolutely painless, providing a “way out.” The comic is a contradiction between norms, suggesting that it springs from one’s perspective in a way that holds important implications for one’s ethical and theological worldview. Kierkegaard believes that subjective development is closely tied to one’s capacity to perceive the comic, making the comic both diagnostic of and formative for one’s subjective state. For him, the Christian is far from humorless, instead having the maximum human capacity to perceive the comic. Next, I show that the previously argued conception of the comic can be found in other works by Kierkegaard: Prefaces (1844), Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits (1847), and the Corsair affair (c.1845-1848). Then, I examine representatives of the Deconstructionist tradition of reading Kierkegaard, namely Louis Mackey, Roger Poole, Elsebet Jegstrup, and Mark C. Taylor. I argue that, while they accurately perceive the widespread irony in Kierkegaard’s corpus, they incorrectly conclude that such irony is a sign of his lack of earnest interest in philosophy and theology. Their conclusion stems from a misunderstanding of what Kierkegaard believes the nature of irony to be. Finally, I consider two contemporary representatives of the tradition of reading Kierkegaard theologically, namely Murray Rae and W. Glenn Kirkconnell. I argue that, while their instincts regarding Kierkegaard are generally preferable to those of the Deconstructionist tradition, they lack the latter’s awareness of Kierkegaard’s use of the comic and willingness to let it influence their conclusions. Their already significant arguments would, I suggest, be strengthened and extended with an increased appreciation for the legitimate function that Kierkegaard believes the comic to play for ethics and theology. The Legitimacy of the Comic: Kierkegaard and the Importance of the Comic for His Ethics and Theology by Will Williams, B.A., M.Div. A Dissertation Approved by the Department of Religion ___________________________________ W. H. Bellinger, Jr., Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by the Dissertation Committee ___________________________________ Paul Martens, Ph.D., Chairperson ___________________________________ Ralph C. Wood, Ph.D. ___________________________________ C. Stephen Evans, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School December 2011 ___________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2011 by Will Williams All rights reserved CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................v KEY TO REFERENCES .................................................................................................. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. ix DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................1 PART I. KIERKEGAARD’S CONCEPTION OF THE COMIC ....................................10 Chapter 2. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Set Forth .........................................11 What Kierkegaard Means by “the Comic” ................................................13 The Relationship of Comic Norms to the Auditor .....................................44 Comic Judgment and the Comic as a Metric of Subjectivity .....................51 Contradiction between Inner and Outer .....................................................54 Having the Comic Inside vs. Outside of Oneself .......................................65 “Higher” Norms Subvert “Lower” Norms, Giving Rise to Existential Motion......................................................................66 The Comic Contradiction in Relation to the Stages of Existence ..............68 Illegitimate Forms of the Comic ................................................................83 Conclusion .................................................................................................95 Chapter 3. Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic Illustrated in Other Works ..............99 Prefaces: a Jest in Earnest........................................................................100 Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits: a Religious Expression of the Comic ...........................................132 The Corsair Affair: a Martyrdom of Laughter in the Name of the Comic ..................152 PART II. KIERKEGAAARD’S COMIC LEGACY ......................................................173 Chapter 4. Irony and Deconstructionist Readings of Kierkegaard .................................174 Louis Mackey...........................................................................................176 Roger Poole ..............................................................................................198 Elsebet Jegstrup .......................................................................................210 Mark C. Taylor.........................................................................................222 Conclusion ...............................................................................................232 iii Chapter 5. Theology and Kierkegaard’s Conception of the Comic ................................240 Murray Rae ..............................................................................................241 W. Glenn Kirkconnell ..............................................................................250 Conclusion ...............................................................................................258 Chapter 6. Conclusion .....................................................................................................260 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................269 iv ABBREVIATIONS CA The Concept of Anxiety, trans. Reidar Thomte in collaboration with Albert B. Anderson (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980). CI The Concept of Irony, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989). COR The Corsair Affair; Articles Related to the Writings, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982). CUP 1 Concluding Unscientific Postscript, vol. 1, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992).. CUP 2 Concluding Unscientific Postscript, vol. 2, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992). EO1 Either/Or, Part I, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987). EO2 Either/Or, Part II, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987). EUD Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990). FT Fear and Trembling, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983). JFY Judge For Yourself!, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990). JP Søren Kierkegaard’s Journals and Papers, ed. and trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong, assisted by Gregor Malantschuk, vols. 1-6, vol. 7 Index and Composite Collation (Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 1967-78). P Prefaces / Writing Sampler, trans. Todd W. Nichol (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997). v Pap. Søren Kierkegaards Papirer, eds. P. A. Heiberg, V. Kuhr, and E. Torsting, 1st edn., vols. I to XI-3 (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1909-48). 2nd edn., vols. I to XI-3 by Niels Thulstrup, vols. XII to XIII supplementary volumes, ed. Niels Thulstrup, vols. XIV to XVI index by Niels Jørgen Cappelørn (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1968-78). PC Practice in Christianity, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991). PF Philosophical Fragments, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985). POV The Point of View including On My Work as an Author and The Point of View for My Work as an Author, and Armed Neutrality, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998). R Repetition, trans. Howard V. and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1983). SKS Søren Kierkegaards Skrifter, eds. Niels Jørgen Cappelørn, Joakim Garff, Jette Knudsen, Johnny Kondrup, Alastair McKinnon, and Finn Hauberg Mortensen, Søren Kierkegaard Forskningscenteret, vols. 1-14, 17-26 (Copenhagen: Gads Forlag, 1997-2010). TA Two Ages: The Age of Revolution and the Present Age. A Literary