KIERKEGAARD AS PSYCHOLOGIST KIERKEGAARD AS PSYCHOLOGIST Vincent A. McCarthy Northwestern University Press Evanston, Illinois Northwestern University Press www.nupress.northwestern.edu Copyright © 2015 by Northwestern University Press. Published 2015. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data McCarthy, Vincent A., 1947– author. Kierkegaard as psychologist / Vincent A. McCarthy. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978- 0- 8101- 3131- 6 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978- 0- 8101- 3181- 1 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978- 0- 8101- 3132- 3 (ebook) 1. Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813– 1855. 2. Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813– 1855— Influence. 3. Heidegger, Martin, 1889– 1976. 4. Psychology— Philosophy. I. Title. B4378.P79M33 2015 198.9— dc23 2015011506 Except where otherwise noted, this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. In all cases attribution should include the following information: McCarthy, Vincent A. Kierkegaard as Psychologist. Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern Uni- versity Press, 2015. For permissions beyond the scope of this license, visit http://www.nupress. northwestern.edu/ An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative de- signed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. More infor- mation about the initiative and links to the open-access version can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org. In gratitude to Robert McAfee Brown and William J. Richardson, S.J. inspired teachers, inspiring persons Contents Acknowledgments ix Chronology of Kierkegaard’s Writings xi List of Abbreviations xv Introduction 3 1 Kierkegaard, Psychology, and Freud 9 2 Sex and Sexuality 23 3 Emotions about Nothing 34 4 The Psychology of Either/Or 49 5 Narcissism: Kierkegaard and Freud 65 6 Repetition Compulsion 79 7 Melancholia and the Religious: Beyond Repetitions 93 8 The Dark Ground of Anxiety: Kierkegaard and Schelling 109 9 The Fear of Nothing: Kierkegaard and Heidegger 123 10 Despair as Divided Will and Inner Life Ignored 136 Appendix: On the Kierkegaard- Heidegger Relationship 150 Notes 157 Bibliography 181 Index 187 Acknowledgments This work is the product not only of many years, but of many hands and of many minds. In particular I would like to thank Steven N. Dunning, emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania, for his suggestions and encouragement for this project, as well as David Law, professor of Theology at the University of Manchester, UK, for his steadfast assistance and keen editorial eye. The staff of Northwestern University Press has been a pleasure to work with. Early versions of some chapters appeared in the International Kier- kegaard Commentary series, edited by Robert L. Perkins, and I am grate- ful to Mercer University Press for their ready agreement to my using them. ix Chronology of Kierkegaard’s Writings 1843 Either/Or: A Fragment of Life, edited by Victor Eremita (Enten- Eller. Et Livs- Fragment, udgivet af Victor Eremita) Two Edifying Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (To opbyggelige Taler, af S. Kierkegaard) Fear and Trembling: A Dialectical Lyric, by Johannes de Silentio (Frygt og Bœven. Di- alektisk Lyrik, af Johannes de Silentio) Repetition: A Venture in Experimenting Psychology, by Constantin Constantius (Gjenta- gelsen. Et Forsøg i den experimenterende Psychologi, af Constantin Constantius) Three Edifying Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (Tre opbyggelige Taler, af S. Kierkegaard) Four Edifying Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (Fire opbyggelige Taler, af S. Kierkegaard) 1844 Two Edifying Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (To opbyggelige Taler, af S. Kierkegaard) Three Edifying Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (Tre opbyggelige Taler, af S. Kierke- gaard) Philosophical Fragments, or a Fragment of Philosophy, by Johannes Climacus, pub- lished by S. Kierkegaard (Philosophiske Smuler eller En Smule Philosophie, af Johannes Climacus, udgivet af S. Kierkegaard) The Concept of Anxiety: A Simple Psychologically Oriented Reflection on the Dogmatic Problem of Original Sin, by Vigilius Haufniensis (Begrebet Angest. En simpel psychologisk- paapegende Overveielse i Retning of det dogmatiske Problem om Arve- synden, af Vigilius Haufniensis) Prefaces: Light Reading for Certain Classes as the Occasion May Require, by Nicolaus Notabene (Forord. Morskabslœsning for enkelte Stœnder efter Tid og Lejlighed, af Nicolaus Notabene) (published on the same day as The Concept of Anxiety) Four Edifying Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (Fire opbyggelige Taler, af S. Kierkegaard) 1845 Three Addresses on Imagined Occasions, by S. Kierkegaard (Tre Taler ved tœnkte Leiligheder, af S. Kierkegaard) xi xii CHRONOLOGY OF KIERKEGAARD’S WRITINGS Stages on Life’s Way: Studies by Various Persons, compiled, forwarded to the press, and published by Hilarious Bookbinder (Stadier paa Livets Vej. Studier af Forskjellige, sammenbragte, befordrede til Trykken og udgivne af Hilarius Bogbinder) Eighteen Edifying Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (a collection of the remaindered Edifying Discourses from 1843 and 1844) Article in Fœdrelandet under the pseudonym Frater Taciturnus asking to be criti- cized in The Corsair 1846 Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments: A Mimetic- Pathetic- Dialectic Compilation, an Existential Plea, by Johannes Climacus, published by S. Kierkegaard (Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift til de philosophiske Smuler.— Mimisk- pathetisk- dialektisk Sammenskrift, Existentielt Indlœg, af Jo- hannes Climacus, udgiven af S. Kierkegaard) A Literary Review: “Two Ages”— novella by the author of “An Everyday Story”— reviewed by S. Kierkegaard (En literair Anmeldelse, af S. Kierkegaard) 1847 Edifying Discourses in Different Spirits, by S. Kierkegaard (Opbyggelige Taler i forskjellig Aand, af S. Kierkegaard) Works of Love: Some Christian Reflections in the Form of Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (Kjerlighedens Gjerninger. Nogle christelige Overveielser i Talers Form, af S. Kier- kegaard) 1848 Christian Discourses, by S. Kierkegaard (Christelige Taler, af S. Kierkegaard) The Crisis and a Crisis in the Life of an Actress, by Inter et Inter (Krisen og en Krise i en Skuespillerindes Liv, af Inter et Inter) The Point of View for My Work as an Author: A Direct Communication, a Report to History (Synspunktet for min Forfatter- Virksomhed. En ligefrem Meddelelse, Rapport til Historien, af S. Kierkegaard) (published posthumously) 1849 Second edition of Either/Or The Lilies of the Field and the Birds of the Air: Three Devotional Discourses, by S. Kier- kegaard (Lilien paa Marken og Fuglen under Himlen. Tre gudelige Taler, af S. Kierkegaard) xiii CHRONOLOGY OF KIERKEGAARD’S WRITINGS Two Ethico- Religious Treatises, by H. H. (Tvende ethisk- religieuse Smaa- Afhandlinger. Af H. H.) The Sickness unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Edification and Awak- ening, by Anti- Climacus, edited by S. Kierkegaard (Sygdommen til Døden. En christelig psychologisk Udvikling til Opvœkkelse, af Anticlimacus, udgivet af S. Kierkegaard) “The High Priest”— “The Publican”— and “The Woman Taken in Sin”: Three Addresses at Holy Communion on Fridays, by S. Kierkegaard (“Yppersteprœsten”— “Tolderen”— “Synderinden”: Tre Taler ved Altergangen om Fredagen, af S. Kier- kegaard) 1850 Training in Christianity, by Anti-Climacus, nos. I, II, III, edited by S. Kierkegaard (Indøvelse i Christendom, af Anti- Climacus, udgivet af S. Kierkegaard) An Edifying Discourse, by S. Kierkegaard (En opbyggelig Tale, af S. Kierkegaard) 1851 On My Activity as a Writer, by S. Kierkegaard (Om min Forfatter- Virksomhed, af S. Kier- kegaard) Two Discourses at Holy Communion on Fridays, by S. Kierkegaard (To Taler ved Alter- gangen om Fredagen, af S. Kierkegaard) For Self- Examination: Recommended to the Contemporary Age, by S. Kierkegaard (Til Selvprøvelse. Samtiden anbefalet, af S. Kierkegaard) Judge for Yourselves! Recommended to the Present Time for Self- Examination. Second series, by S. Kierkegaard (Dømmer Selv! Til Selvprøvelse Samtiden anbefalet. Anden Rœkke, af S. Kierkegaard) (published posthumously in 1876) 1854 “Was Bishop Mynster ‘a Witness to the Truth,’ one of ‘the True Witnesses to the Truth’— Is This the Truth?” by S. Kierkegaard, in Fœdrelandet (“Var Bis- kop Mynster et ‘Sandhedsvidne,’ et af ‘de rette Sandhedsvidner,’ er dette Sandhed?” af S. Kierkegaard) The Instant, by S. Kierkegaard (Øjeblikket, af S. Kierkegaard) Christ’s Judgment on Official Christianity, by S. Kierkegaard (Hvad Christus dømmer om officiel Christendom, af S. Kierkegaard) God’s Unchangeability: A Discourse, by S. Kierkegaard (Guds Uforanderlighed. En Tale, af S. Kierkegaard) Abbreviations Complete citations can be found in the bibliography. Kierkegaard Danish SKS Søren Kierkegaards Skrifter English (translations by Howard V. and Edna H. Hong, except where noted) CA The Concept of Anxiety, translated by Reidar Thomte CI The Concept of Irony CUP Concluding Unscientific Postscript E/O 1 Either/Or, part 1 E/O 2 Either/Or, part 2 FT Fear and Trembling JP Journals and Papers LD Letters and Documents, translated by Hendrik Rosenmeier R Repetition SLW Stages on Life’s Way SUD The Sickness unto Death TA A Literary Review: Two Ages Freud SE Standard Edition of Freud xv xvi ABBREVIATIONS Heidegger GWH Gesammelte Werke SZ Sein