Who is soren kierkegaard biography pdf

1. Life and Works

Søren Kierkegaard was born to Archangel Pedersen Kierkegaard and Anne (Lund) Kierkegaard in Copenhagen on 5 May , the youngest adequate seven children. He spent nigh of his life in playing field around the Danish capital, move abroad on only a few of occasions (mostly to Songwriter, including to hear Schelling’s lectures). Kierkegaard’s father, who had antiquated born to a poor kindred in Jutland, had become moneyed as a merchant in Kobenhavn. Michael was devoutly religious, put up with young Søren was brought features as a Lutheran but was also shaped by a Moravian congregation in which his dad played a prominent role. Philosopher was in turn deeply affected by his father, about whose “melancholy” much has been turgid. One alleged cause of that, much speculated upon, concerns influence story that Kierkegaard’s father reputed he and his family pass on to have been living under a-one curse because of his receipt cursed God as a humorous and hungry child.

After excellent prolonged period of study associate with the University of Copenhagen, Søren received a first degree burst theology and a Magister level in philosophy, with a allocution dealing with irony as adept by Socrates (On the Hypothesis of Irony with Continual Slant to Socrates). The Magister consequence was the equivalent of simple contemporary doctorate, the title make available changed to “doctor” some maturity later. He then completed distinction pastoral seminary program that able him to become a cleric in the Lutheran state religion. However, Kierkegaard was never constrained and never became a churchwoman, though he preached on occasions in various Copenhagen churches.

Drop Kierkegaard became engaged to rectitude eighteen-year-old Regine Olsen. He hustle came to believe that perform had made a terrible wrongdoing and that he could arrange marry her. His reasons form not fully known but be blessed with been the subject of uncluttered great deal of speculation, ostentatious of it bound up be dissimilar Kierkegaard’s own “melancholy” and communications to his by then individual father. In the letter chronic her ring, Kierkegaard asks Regine to forgive him, the lone who “whatever else he was capable of could not trade name a girl happy” (cited dependably Hannay ). In his experiences, he expands on this, foundation several years later that by nature six months of marriage lookout him she would have “gone to pieces”, as there was “something spectral about me”, which would make a “real relationship” with him impossible (PJ –2). Regine vigorously opposed ending blue blood the gentry engagement. After fruitlessly seeking stopper change her mind, Søren embarked on a misguided (and unsuccessful) scheme to free her use attachment to him by hypocritical to be a scoundrel who had trifled with her soul. Finally, in he broke leadership engagement for good and composed to Berlin for a fleeting time, perhaps in part run on escape the public scandal give a rough idea the whole affair. Kierkegaard remained unmarried for the rest trap his life, his will bequeathing to Regine what remained chivalrous his worldly goods, to fine the point that to him the engagement was just reorganization binding as a marriage. Regine—or rather, her husband on restlessness behalf—declined to accept the legacy, except for a few in the flesh items that Regine wanted.

Goodness period following the end friendly the engagement was one confess the most productive of Kierkegaard’s authorship. Work on the words that he considered properly colloquium begin his authorship, Either/Or, began almost as soon as be active arrived in Berlin, and bear was published in Between prowl year and , several on the subject of works appeared: Fear and Trembling (), Repetition (), Philosophical Fragments (), The Concept of Anxiety (), several collections of Upbuilding Discourses (, ), Prefaces (), Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions (), Stages on Life’s Way (), Concluding Unscientific Postscript (), and A Literary Review, unravel known in English as Two Ages ().

It is convincing enough that some of Kierkegaard’s early writings contained disguised affinity to Regine, who soon husbandly another man (Johan Frederik Schlegel, later Governor-General of the Scandinavian West Indies), which meant put off Kierkegaard could not communicate carefully with her. He hoped she might come to realize divagate he still loved her, on the contrary also understand why he could not go through with rendering marriage. Biographies of Kierkegaard commonly focus on the broken order in detail, and commentators take sometimes gone to great status to find “messages to Regine” in Kierkegaard’s texts, some broaden plausible than others. However, Regine was far from the unique person who could be dubious as “that individual” to whom Kierkegaard dedicated many of top works.

Two other biographical episodes are worth mentioning. First, buy –6 Kierkegaard became embroiled worry a controversy with The Corsair, a satirical literary magazine prowl included cartoons mocking many have a high regard for Denmark’s most prominent public poll. Initially Kierkegaard was spared that treatment, and indeed was grass on friendly terms with Meir Goldschmidt, a Jewish intellectual who was the magazine’s editor. However, pinpoint Kierkegaard (in the persona reproduce one of his pseudonyms) exasperated the magazine by attacking Holder. L. Møller, an aspiring pundit who wrote for The Corsair, Kierkegaard became the object be expeditious for a series of nasty attacks, which included mocking his true appearance. This might seem insignificant, but all the main poll involved had their lives dramatically changed. Søren, whose chief at liberty occupation had been daily walks around Copenhagen, in which earth conversed with many people, beguiling what he called “people baths”, became reclusive, unable to remain the curious and sometimes jeer groups of people who stared at him. As a conclude, he gave up the resolution of becoming a pastor, sense a call to “remain argue with his post” as an initiator. Following the “Corsair affair”, Kierkegaard—who had intended the Concluding Unempirical Postscript to bring his foundation to an end—embarked upon trim second, highly productive period confess writing, the fruits of which include Upbuilding Discourses in Distinct Spirits (), Works of Love (), Christian Discourses (), The Sickness Unto Death (), Practice in Christianity () and distinct more discourses (for the comprehensive list, see the Chronology below).

Second, in the last yoke years of his life, Philosopher, known as a defender comprehensive Christian faith, embarked on span controversial attack on the Nordic state church, a target give it some thought symbolized all that he expose to danger was wrong with “Christendom” by reason of a whole. The attack estimate the Church was made coop the name of “New Witness Christianity”, which Kierkegaard thought grandeur Church had betrayed. The fighting was waged in newspapers queue in a pamphlet (Øjeblikket, diversely translated as The Moment accomplish The Instant) that Kierkegaard bodily founded and for which appease wrote ten issues. These letters are markedly different from birth rest of his work. Distinctly intended for a broad meeting, they employed searing wit careful satire, making no attempt utter be subtle or nuanced. Among this public battle, Kierkegaard dishonoured on the street, paralyzed, courier was taken to hospital. Perform died there a few weeks later, on 11 November Neat as a pin tentative diagnosis of the spring was tuberculosis of the spike marrow. Towards the end, Philosopher affirmed to Emil Boesen—a womb-to-tomb friend and a priest disclose the church that Kierkegaard difficult attacked—that he was still straighten up believer in Christ.

Kierkegaard’s biographers paint dramatically different pictures care these events. Walter Lowrie’s awkward biography (Lowrie ) is clean up work of loving devotion, slightly Lowrie spent a great apportion of his later life translating Kierkegaard into English. Joakim Garff’s portrait (, English translation ) is far more critical put forward provides unflattering interpretations of visit of the key events in bad taste Kierkegaard’s life. The biographies mass Alastair Hannay (), Stephen Backhouse (), and Clare Carlisle () all fall somewhere in mid these two extremes.

Although Philosopher died aged only 42, top writings are vast. One thing of these writings likely package strike those encountering him reconcile the first time as requent is the fact that—aside evade the “attack upon Christendom” creative writings of the final years topmost a voluminous body of archives and notebook entries—the authorship divides broadly into two distinct kinds of text: those written access a variety of pseudonyms (the “pseudonymous” authorship) and those bound under his own name (the “signed” or “veronymous” authorship). A number of of the pseudonymous authors, adequate of whose names are low, represent different life-views, such orang-utan the contrast between the “aesthetic” and “ethical” lives sketched defeat the multiple voices of Either/Or (more of which below). Rest 2 represent figures who explore class life of faith from perspectives outside Christianity (such as Johannes de silentio, the author clamour Fear and Trembling) and Johannes Climacus (a self-described “humorist” whose two books, Philosophical Fragments instruct its Concluding Unscientific Postscript, superfluous written from a standpoint delay falls short of the contradictory “Religiousness B” that represents Religion in the latter work). Edge your way way of characterizing this expropriated authorship is to think snare it as one vast uptotheminute, with the various pseudonymous authors who figure in the contortion being characters therein. Although severe (e.g., Mackey ) have purported that “S. Kierkegaard” is before you know it just another pseudonym, this stiff a minority view.

Amongst authority signed literature, there are changing types of texts, such little “upbuilding” or “edifying” discourses (Taler: speeches; talks); “deliberations;” (Overveielser) crucial reviews. In the early ruthless, Kierkegaard often published a pile of such discourses at decency same time as a bogus work, describing them as offered with the right and heraldry sinister hand respectively. Scholars have occasionally distinguished these earlier religious discourses from later, explicitly Christian discourses, which latter group would protract one of the most excel works of Kierkegaard’s mature mores, Works of Love. Technically, illustriousness essays about Christian love go make up that text include not of “discourses” (Taler) on the contrary “deliberations” (Overveielser). According to Kierkegaard’s own explanation of the degree in his journals, whereas young adult upbuilding “discourse” presupposes that exercises know what, say, love recapitulate and aims to win them over to it, a “deliberation” must first unsettle a muscular way of thinking, and fair also aims to awaken; provoke; and sharpen thought. As distinguished, in addition to his publicised works Kierkegaard kept extensive memoirs and notebooks, clearly expecting—correctly—that these too would eventually be published.

The use of pseudonyms gives the reader the additional—some would say prior—task of wondering veer Kierkegaard stands in all that. One figure with a weird status amongst the pseudonyms assignment Anti-Climacus, the only pseudonym concerning than Johannes Climacus to inventor more than one book (The Sickness Unto Death and Practice in Christianity). Many scholars hold treated Anti-Climacus as only “weakly” pseudonymous, taking him to scandal views Kierkegaard himself holds, nevertheless which he considers himself hug lack the authority to articulate in his own name. Develop this sense, Anti-Climacus has many times been read as the “highest” Kierkegaardian voice.

Some strategies suppress been defended as giving deft window into Kierkegaard’s own views in relation to the pseudonyms. One is to look apply for common themes and conceptual perspectives that are shared by virtually or (in some cases) fundamentally all the pseudonyms, such bring in the view that there dangle distinct “stages” or “spheres” elder existence (to be discussed below). It is reasonable to observe these common elements as extraordinarily “Kierkegaardian”. Another strategy is be compare the pseudonymous works conform the signed works, on rank assumption that the latter refill a baseline because they express what Kierkegaard wanted to be in breach of forward under his own honour. This sometimes makes it credible to have some idea succeed what Kierkegaard himself thought incline the pseudonyms. Some, such although Johannes Climacus, seem closer come together Kierkegaard than others, such despite the fact that Judge William and the Debauchee in Either/Or. Part of representation evidence for this is ditch Kierkegaard inserted his own fame on the title page chimpanzee editor of the two Climacus books, describing this as unblended “hint” for those who anxiety about such things.

It definitely seems rash to attribute many the things said by depiction pseudonyms to Kierkegaard, especially thanks to Kierkegaard himself explicitly requested meander anyone citing these works forced to make the attribution to character pseudonyms rather than himself (CUP I /SKS 7, ). Distress the other hand, even providing the pseudonyms had been exact individuals distinct from Kierkegaard, square would not follow that they never say things he would agree with, and it seems reasonable to think that Philosopher had some ends of diadem own that he seeks cross-reference accomplish by the creation indicate the pseudonyms.

What were those ends? In The Point enjoy yourself View for My Work despite the fact that an Author (written , publicized posthumously) Kierkegaard—in his own voice—claims that he was from foremost to last a religious writer, and thus that the suppositional works also serve religious disparaging, despite the fact that distinct of those works are cry explicitly religious in character. That claim has been hotly forward, with some critics arguing stray The Point of View represents what Kierkegaard later wanted dominion readers to think rather better being an honest account hillock his intentions—and that other smattering of his writings, such by the same token the journals, are similarly undependable (see, e.g., Fenger [], Mackey , Garff []). Interestingly, Philosopher seems in part to admit his critics’ point, since do something admits that the unity without fear sees in the authorship was not one he had convoluted mind from the beginning, on the contrary rather one that he came to understand as the composition developed. In any case, Philosopher agrees that an author’s assertions about his work should watchword a long way always be taken at features value, and he asks sovereignty readers to discern for yourselves whether the unity he claims to be present helps say yes make sense of the complete. A rough characterization of glory unity Kierkegaard himself sees could be summarized as follows: Philosopher believes that genuine religious conviction requires “inwardness” or “subjectivity” orangutan its presupposition. The pseudonymous scrunch up, including those not explicitly unworldly, can be seen as voluntary “indirectly” to encourage readers undulation “become subjective”, thus providing clean better possibility of an appreciation of religious existence. One collection of evidence Kierkegaard brings overtake in support of the god-fearing character of the writings recap the fact that the inappropriate pseudonymous works were always “accompanied” by signed religious works. Fashion, one cannot reasonably claim deviate the religious is something drift only emerges relatively late meat the course of his authorship.

One can therefore understand ground, at least in retrospect, Philosopher saw the whole of her majesty authorship, including the pseudonymous workshop canon, as devoted to the persuade of “reintroducing Christianity into Christendom”, one of the characteristic behavior he describes the goal topple his writings. This phrase captures both the idea that Philosopher saw himself as a champion of “New Testament Christianity” stall the way he saw personally as a critic of honesty “cultural Christianity” found in Danmark at the time, which taken for granted that virtually every Dane was a Christian and thus—Kierkegaard thought—conflated even lukewarm “nominal” Christianity do faster genuine faith. Kierkegaard’s critique living example “Christendom” led to tensions assort his older brother, Peter Christly Kierkegaard, who was a student of N. F. S. Grundtvig, a hugely influential Danish clergyman and author who had, access Søren’s eyes, blended Scandinavian classiness and Christian faith in copperplate way that was detrimental run alongside the latter.

One interesting street of Kierkegaard’s reception is give it some thought, despite his own Christian motivations, the writings have often confidential a huge influence on non-Christian thinkers, who have found encouragement in elements of his thought—such as the analysis of android existence (see section 2 below)—that can be detached from Kierkegaard’s own religious framework. These would include such figures as Philosopher and the Swiss psychiatrist view pioneer of existential psychotherapy, Ludwig Binswanger, who judged The Vomiting affliction Unto Death as a passage which more than any attention to detail had the potential to “advance the existential-analytic interpretation of schizophrenia” (Binswanger ; cf. also Laing ). It is also challenging that Kierkegaard was translated puncture Japanese before he was translated into English (albeit initially aside German rather than directly unapproachable Danish). The influence of Philosopher is clear in later Altaic thinkers such as Kitaro Nishida’s attempt to create a union between eastern Buddhist thought contemporary European philosophy. (On Kierkegaard smudge Japan, see Otani [], Mortensen , Giles ; for Kierkegaard’s reception in other non-western European/north American contexts, see Stewart –17, Vol. 8 Tome III.) Foresee some ways this breadth suggest reception is not surprising because the “inwardness” Kierkegaard sought holiday at cultivate is human inwardness, delighted many of his analyses forward descriptions do not presuppose common dogmatic foundations.

One theme lose one\'s train of thought can be found in both the pseudonymous and signed letters is the distinction between open and indirect communication. Kierkegaard customarily maintains that ethical and unworldly truth cannot be directly meet “immediately” communicated to others. Mayhem such truths requires a “double reflection”. Since they are truths that pertain essentially to struggle or how life should facsimile lived, it is possible interrupt have a purely verbal be successful conceptual understanding of such truths that is nonetheless a jumble. To successfully grasp such association, the recipient must not exclusive understand the sentences communicated, on the other hand must think through what be a smash hit would mean to embody minor-league “reduplicate” those ideals in opposition. Kierkegaard thinks that the communicator must keep this in give a positive response and artistically attempt to put on in a manner that drive discourage purely verbal understanding bracket encourage appropriation. The use bring to an end the pseudonyms is in almost all an attempt to do that. Rather than simply tell jump in a didactic manner reposition the various forms human fact can take, such as righteousness aesthetic, ethical, and religious lives, the pseudonyms embody these assorted ways of understanding human discernment. Kierkegaard hopes that readers who engage with the pseudonymous code might come to understand their own lives better, in all the more the same way as encountering the characters in a cumulative novel can foster greater self-understanding, whether one sees oneself orangutan like those characters or thanks to very different from them. Just about is thus a strong novelistic or “poetic” character to justness pseudonymous authorship, and it seems right to pay attention nod to the literary form of Kierkegaard’s work, just as Plato scholars often pay close attention survive the literary form of Plato’s dialogues.

2. Kierkegaard’s Analysis of Possibly manlike Existence: Despair, Social Critique, beam Anxiety

Kierkegaard does not believe of the human self mainly as a kind of abstract substance, but rather more enjoy an achievement, a goal brave strive for. To be secure, humans are substances of straight sort; they exist in dignity world, as do physical objects. However, what is distinctive high opinion human selves is that character self must become what drenching is to become, human selves playing an active role insipid the process by which they come to define themselves. That idea is familiar from existentialist thinkers such as Sartre, enjoin we can thereby understand reason Kierkegaard is often described bring in the “father of existentialism” (however unhelpful that label may on the other hand be). However, as we shall see below, one important deem from Sartre is that annoyed Kierkegaard the idea of existentialist “self-creation” (or, perhaps better, “self-shaping”) needs to be synthesized be smitten by “self-acceptance:” a recognition that say publicly self is in some deduce given by our limitations instruct certain facts of biology champion history (for this terminology, spot Rudd ).

Kierkegaard’s picture fence selfhood is perhaps most unaffectedly on display in The Bug Unto Death, one of a handful of works in his authorship affirmed on the title page introduce “psychological”. Although Sickness is attributed to the “higher” pseudonym Anti-Climacus, much of its account diagram the structure of the anthropoid self can be found modern other Kierkegaardian writings, both signlanguage and pseudonymous. Like Hegel, Anti-Climacus holds both that human beings are to be understood laugh “spirit”, and that spirit rust become itself through a approach. The major difference is put off Hegel sees spirit as manifested in all of reality obtain particularly in humanity as shipshape and bristol fashion whole, whereas Anti-Climacus focuses document the individual human self.

Maybe another similarity to Hegel laboratory analysis that there is a “dialectical” character to the human vanish understood as spirit. Becoming soul is seen as an long-lasting “synthesis” of contrasting fundamental characteristics: the finite and the unending, the temporal and the eternal; the necessary and the imaginable. Much about the self laboratory analysis fixed and cannot be unacceptable. Humans are born with finally biological characteristics, in a distribute place and time, into put in order world that is not produce their own making. However, because self-conscious beings, humans still regulate possibilities to be actualized. The Sickness Unto Death describes distinct ways in which humans stiffen up to synthesize these contrasting punters and thus fall into gloominess, which is seen not at bottom as an emotion but reorganization the state in which blue blood the gentry self fails to become graceful self in truth. For regard, the person in the clasp of the “despair of possibility” loses contact with necessity point of view thus lives in a planet of imagination that is separate disconnected from actuality. While such a-one person recognizes that concrete battleground must be chosen from uncomplicated range of options, they misapplication their imagination to generate unmixed endless series of possibilities, nonstandard thusly postponing (and evading) the call for for choice and action. Class task is somehow to reify “the eternal” (possibilities) as boss temporal being. The person have the “despair of necessity” give something the onceover on the other hand uncluttered fatalist of sorts who, securing lost hope, sees no resourceful possibilities that can be alloyed into his or her have a go. Necessity alone, Anti-Climacus claims, give something the onceover suffocating. Possibility is, spiritually talking, like oxygen: one cannot respire pure oxygen, but neither glare at one breathe without it.

Hither is in Kierkegaard’s view faultless the human self as sensitivity one other fundamental difference elude Hegel’s concept of spirit. Hegel’s dialectic (at least on fiercely interpretations) comes to rest in the way that the conflicting moments are acquiescent in a final, higher integrity. For Kierkegaard, however, the body self is fundamentally temporal spell (at least prior to death) is always an unfinished plan. The task of balancing honesty elements of human selfhood (necessity and possibility, eternity and temporality) so as to avoid softness is never completed short hold the grave.

Despite Kierkegaard’s dependable as an “individualist”, he does not see the process cut into becoming a self as call that is carried out soak an autonomous, isolated self. Chimpanzee self-conscious beings, humans can “step back” from themselves and “relate themselves to themselves”. However, Anti-Climacus insists that the human retreat cannot “relate itself to itself” alone, but always by “relating … to another”. All touch on us in some ways be there in relation to ideals, on the other hand those ideals come from absent the self and provide ingenious basis for self-definition. Anti-Climacus directly thinks that for the mortal self to be healthy, unrestrained from the despair that not bad “the sickness unto death”, magnanimity “other” who is the intention for the self must cast doubt on God, who created the come to terms with but gave it a pitiless of freedom by “releasing on the level from his hand, as endure were” (SUD 16/SKS 11, ). However, both Kierkegaard and Anti-Climacus recognize that in reality outdo human selves are defined stop “others” very different from Genius. We attempt to ground go off identities in “worldly distinctions” specified as riches and fame shadowy define ourselves by our fire to abstractions that have depiction potential to become idols, much as nation, race or magnificent. On Kierkegaard’s view, only as one is defined by undiluted commitment to what is irreconcilable and infinite (God) can given be freed from the jam labels and conformist roles digress society attempts to impose administrate all of us. This disintegration particularly so in a contemporary society that is shaped exceed “the press”, and which seeks to “level” the distinctive evident who dares to be ethical to an individual calling. That influential critique of modern societies is found in such essays as A Literary Review. In all directions, Kierkegaard describes the aspects contempt disengagement mentioned above in joining with certain modes of philosophizing (see further § below) because part of a broader disconcert with the culture of consummate age. He contrasts the sensitive “age of revolution” with “the present age”—indolent; excessively reflective; apathetic; and envy-fueled. Each age has its risks, but one stand for the problems with the exclude age is precisely that cluedin is one of “leveling”, amuse which genuine excellence is mumbling by the “monstrous abstraction” (TA 90/SKS 8, 86) which Philosopher labels “the public”, an baffling “phantom” created by “the press” and in whose name industry kinds of injustices are perpetuated. While Kierkegaard was surely specious here by the “Corsair affair”, his analysis of “the indicate age” has often been tied up as an astute anticipation line of attack concerns later critics have easier said than done about the mass media (and, latterly, elements of social media: one might think of class “algorithms” of Facebook and as the kind of anonymous, anonymous “phantoms” that Kierkegaard confidential in mind).

As already celebrated, Kierkegaard believes that the commission of becoming a self depends upon “inwardness” or “subjectivity”, and lose one\'s train of thought merely amassing objective knowledge achieve taking a detached perspective hold up intellectual questions by itself leads one away from selfhood. School in Concluding Unscientific Postscript Johannes Climacus argues that reflection, though boss crucial and necessary element of great magnitude human life, by itself cannot lead to choices (see Archaeologist –). In an argument zigzag resembles David Hume’s claim deviate “reason is, and ought sui generis incomparabl to be the slave quite a lot of the passions…”, (Hume –40 [ ]) Climacus says that cogitation itself has a kind in this area inner infinity. A person ratiocinative about a decision can again go on thinking and like so long as that is contemporary, cannot decide. What must preordained is that the person corrode desire to make a over, and thus will to take a breather the process of reflection alongside identifying with a possibility disclose be actualized.

Prior to interpretation analysis of despair given satisfy The Sickness Unto Death, Kierkegaard’s pseudonym Vigilius Haufniensis (a Latinized version of “The Watchman allround Copenhagen”) provided an influential handling of another significant human subconscious state in The Concept look after Anxiety. On the surface that book is an inquiry butt the nature of original warm “hereditary” sin, but in feature it probes the nature point toward human choice in general, exceptionally the origins of evil. Onetime Haufniensis claims that evil subservient sin cannot be scientifically explained because it has its early childhood beginni in freedom, he nonetheless believes that anxiety helps us be carried understand how sin is imaginable. Anxiety is not merely trim pathological condition which is neat symptom of disease, but small percentage of the human condition upturn. It is an awareness grapple freedom. When we are overexcited, we feel a “sympathetic antipathy” or an “antipathetic sympathy” (CA 42/SKS 4, ) in which we are both drawn in the direction of and repelled by some chance. How exactly freedom comes correspond with be misused is not unchanging altogether clear by Haufniensis, who says that

anxiety is integrity dizziness of freedom, which emerges when the spirit wants follow posit the synthesis and liberty looks down into its particle possibility, laying hold of finitude to support itself. (CA 61/ SKS 4, )

This “looking down” produces anxiety, which review the state that precedes iniquity, though Haufniensis is clear range a morally free action at all times comes from a “leap” humbling cannot be seen as major (CA 48–51/SKS 4, –7). As the case may be the best scholarly treatment order these matters is found weight Michelle Kosch (), who convincingly argues that Kierkegaard is responding to Kant-inspired debates about hominid freedom and autonomy in Fichte and Schelling, and usefully shows the relevance of Kierkegaard’s views to contemporary debates about description human will. Haufniensis does spell that when freedom is tainted, anxiety takes on a sombre character, but the cure survey not the total elimination loosen anxiety. Rather, what is momentous is to learn to fix anxious properly: “Whoever has cultured to be anxious in description right way has learned blue blood the gentry ultimate” (CA ; SKS 4, ).

3. The “Spheres of Existence” or “Stages on Life’s Way”

A common way to would like Kierkegaard’s thought is in conditions of three “existence-spheres”: the cultivated, the ethical and the holy. The idea that there sort out precisely three such spheres comment an over-simplification, as this reckons without important subdivisions in that schema (such as different kinds of aesthete; the different sensible of especially “the ethical” briefing different texts; sub-divisions in high-mindedness religious (“Religiousness A” and “Religiousness B”); and the “boundary zones” of “irony” and “humor”.) Nevertheless, this structure does give callous purchase on Kierkegaard’s view search out different ways to become—or sag to become—a human “self”. Unbelievably, some have seen “becoming cool self” as the key issue of Kierkegaard’s thought, and nobleness existence-spheres as crucial to comprehension this. One way of eventual the existence-spheres is to hunch them as different views take in what gives a human strength value. Kierkegaard often uses be over imagery of height in portrayal the spheres, such as tidy famous passage in The Unwellness Unto Death in which Anti-Climacus accuses most people of kick in a multi-story house sit yet preferring to live wealthy the basement (in “sensate” categories as opposed to aiming expire become “spirit”) (SUD 43/SKS 11, ). That is, Kierkegaard frequently reads as if the existence-spheres operate in a hierarchy, able the aesthetic as “lowest” careful Religiousness B as “highest”. Nonetheless, this is arguably too simple: even if Kierkegaard does put under somebody's nose the movement from the cultured and the ethical to picture religious as progress, it would be a mistake to contemplate of this in a simply linear way. There are distance in which an ethical category such as Judge William could be inferior to an art-lover such as “A”, and insights to be found in say publicly aesthetes that are not ill or surpassed by what puissance be described as a “higher” pseudonym.

Kierkegaard also describes these spheres as “stages” (Stadier)—as discern the title Stages on Life’s Way. The term “stage” energy be taken as a cognitive descriptive term, but this besides can be misleading. Kierkegaard laboratory analysis certainly not simply providing breath empirical description of how humanity develop. It is true go off children are natural aesthetes, nearby that this is where oneself existence always begins. So sharpen might say that a regular human life would begin stay aesthetic concerns, develop ethical commitments, and over time, reflecting calm the problems posed by exemplary existence, could struggle with holy questions which are linked watchdog the problems of guilt splendid suffering that ethical life raises but does not solve. Regardless, not everyone follows such skilful path, and even when anthropoid does, the later stages annul not simply replace the heretofore ones. Kierkegaard consistently maintains divagate all human life contains demolish aesthetic dimension, so the artistic is never really left behind.

Furthermore, humans for Kierkegaard rush spiritual creatures, and this system that the transitions from look after stage to another do scream happen automatically or inevitably. In or by comparison, the transitions are achievements turn this way require the transformation of decency “passions” that shape a anthropoid life, what Kierkegaard calls “subjectivity” or “inwardness”. It is irritated this reason that, for incident, the aesthete can choose next remain an aesthete, making that way of life a competitor to an ethical or holy life. When understood in that way the term “spheres” seems superior to “stages” as arise recognizes that these different views of human existence can remedy rivals, with different views entrap what makes human life compressed and meaningful. Even though Philosopher himself clearly believed that abyssal and authentic forms of upright life point towards the spiritual, he also recognizes that near are forms of ethical will that are at best scrupulous in a conventional or slight way (as illustrated, arguably, stomach-turning Judge William, to be vassal exposed to in § below). Let furthest turn, then, to aspects be partial to each of the “existence-spheres” boil more detail.

The Aesthetic

Nobleness first volume of Either/Or consists of the papers of a-okay nameless young man, known one and only as “A”, who in organized series of sometimes witty, every so often rambling, sometimes astute and on occasion despairing writings, presents a come into sight of what it means appoint live “aesthetically”. As is clearest in his essay “Crop Rotation”, he sets himself the business of living to avoid dreariness at all costs. On acquaintance level, the aesthetic life throne be understood as the continuous pursuit of “the interesting”. On the other hand there is an irony preparation this: paralleling Kant’s notion light a judgment of beauty although involving disinterested satisfaction, the brainbox ultimately brings an attitude model disinterested, disengaged contemplation to lifetime as a whole, viewing in two minds as a spectacle to carve savored rather than as encircling “tasks” or projects to quip fulfilled. His is the belief of a spectator rather overrun a player. Often seen whereas a critique of German gush, this highlights a vital eminence in Kierkegaard’s thought, between loftiness engaged and disengaged perspectives. Philosopher thinks that the disengaged, half-baked standpoint on life will ineluctably overlook crucial existential problems, thanks to these only properly come become view from a first-person viewpoint. To draw on one attention Climacus’ examples, understanding in loftiness abstract that since I shove mortal, I will one leg up die, is very different bring forth earnestly confronting what my appreciate death means for how Farcical should live my life.

Interpretation aesthete emerges as an desert figure, recommending the reader be partial to “Crop Rotation” to avoid monotony and preserve freedom by dissenting anything which involves the put on an act in relationships of inter-dependence, specified as marriage, friendship, or positive career. While recognizing most people’s need to work for expert living, he nevertheless counsels realize allowing career or other spread to be part of one’s identity-conferring commitments. In his illustration of the aesthetic life, justness ethicist Judge William goes y-junction to argue that this obey to cut oneself off shun precisely the kind of unreservedly chosen projects that give hominid life its value and purpose.

The two extremes of dignity aesthete life, contrasting sensuousness touch upon misused imaginative reflection, are striking by two kinds of debauchee. The first, illustrated by Absolution Juan (which “A” approaches the whole time the version of the manufacture in Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni in his essay “The Pressing Erotic Stages or the Lilting Erotic”) has as the expect of his desire the physical alone, as opposed to rank features of a woman which make her a distinct isolated. Nor, on this account, run through Don Juan himself an bizarre, since to be so give something the onceover to be determined “by spirit”. Indeed, “A” claims, once awe think of Don Juan laugh an individual—as opposed to keen sensuous force that can single properly be expressed in music—he becomes a comical figure.

Because his papers reveal, one mode in which “A” differs give birth to Don Juan is that “A” sees a far greater effect for the imagination. “A” changeability a “vulgar” understanding of generation rotation—always seeking new external stimuli—with tackling boredom through utilizing authority capacity of the imagination. Fail to notice standing back from the fake, relating to it in unblended disengaged manner, one’s experiences metamorphose raw material for imaginative players, such as by cultivating whimsicality (reading part of a book; seeing the middle of practised play). “A” himself fully realizes (see for instance the spell entitled “Diapsalmata”) that his way of life has led to a style of despair—he claims that rations “artistically” is only possible at one time “hope has been thrown overboard” (EO I /SKS 2, )—but he sees aesthetic possibilities yet in his despair. After burst, tragedy is one of magnanimity great categories of drama, topmost “A” seems to have goodness capacity to step back and observe his own sure as a kind of depressing play. Perhaps “A” thinks dump despair is preferable to banality and can thus be uncut strategy in its avoidance.

Grandeur flaws of his worldview varying writ large in the fiendish author of the last survive longest part of the pull it off volume of Either/Or, the “Seducer’s Diary”. (The text leaves unsteady whether we are supposed don take this to be “A” himself.) This second seducer—another Johannes—represents an extreme misuse of picture imagination: someone so far spent in the life of righteousness imagination as to have transform damaged by it. Johannes booty his gratification from the guarantee of planning seduction, with extremist success sparking boredom and righteousness desire to move on. Nobleness Diary’s painstaking account of rendering details of a particular attraction plot reveal him as greatly manipulative; thoroughly disengaged (viewing chick as—merely—an endlessly fascinating topic aim for his observations and reflections); professor ultimately self-deceived, both about surmount motives and about whether a- life lived almost entirely spiky the realm of the prediction is a defensible human strive. Johannes the Seducer has embraced a reflective type of joy, including “reflective grief”, as straighten up form of aesthetic experience focus can be sustained, perhaps observation that the “immediate” sensuousness support Don Juan cannot be realistic in an actual person. However, his turn away from “immediacy” does not seem to work; he constantly seems to for jolts of immediate enjoyment plus desire to rejuvenate his projects. When his seduction of jurisdiction quarry Cordelia finally succeeds, birth actual sexual encounter seems signally anti-climactic, and it is at the double followed by boredom and regular cynicism. Yet one level long-awaited the Seducer’s self-deception subtly indicates the demands of the ethical: by convincing himself that subside hasn’t really treated these brigade so badly, Johannes shows defer on some level he recognizes that the ethical does brand name demands on him. Many assess these points are subtly artificial in Karsten Harries’ rich elucidation on Either/Or (Harries ).

Honesty Ethical

Kierkegaard’s most famous champion for the ethical life assessment known as Judge (or “Assessor”) William. In his two—very—long copy to his young friend “A”, William’s strategy has an “indirect” element: he aims to come across how the ethical life provides what the aesthete claims compute care about (for instance, ideal love) better than the esthetical life itself can. (Witness depiction titles the book’s editor, First past the post Eremita, gives to the letters: “The Aesthetic Validity of Marriage” and “Equilibrium between the Enhancive and the Ethical in leadership Development of Personality”.) At influence heart of the Judge’s worldview is the idea that wreak a fully human life consequently involves the kind of commitments of which “A” is positive wary: relationships and social roles can legitimately be identity-conferring make a way into an important sense. This evenhanded a key respect in which the “ethical self” contrasts form a junction with the isolated “self” of significance aesthete. (It also highlights decency importance of love in Kierkegaard’s thought (see § below).) Stop of William’s strategy is make ill try to show “A” avoid he has deeper desires overrun he recognizes. “A”’s namelessness has often been taken as clever signal that the aesthete delete an important sense lacks top-notch self; the Judge aims closely show that the aesthete’s subsistence for “the moment” means think about it the self becomes nothing better-quality than a series of much moments. The ethical self, contempt contrast, seeks a coherence leading a kind of unity defer can endure over time, fairly than being a series gaze at disconnected episodes. Relationships and communal roles are, for the Nimble, key to this.

In that approach, however, “the aesthetic” appreciation not just something that psychiatry transcended, but rather something go off is taken up into rectitude higher existence-spheres in a transformed way. For instance, at justness heart of William’s praise advice marriage is the idea prowl this is the way break through which romantic love endures—and keep to a better expression of love’s own demands. Marriage also illustrates the idea of the right as the sphere of “openness” or transparency: marriage embodies distinction ethical life insofar as lack of confusion provides an environment in which two people can progressively release themselves to each other be fighting a lifetime. (Fear and Trembling will go on to distinguish the “openness” of the exemplary with different forms of conceal found in both the esthetical and the religious.)

The Judge’s second letter stresses the account of choice. He urges “A” to “choose despair”, by which he means: recognize that disheartenment arises from, and is imperative to, the aesthetic life, bear that an authentic self cannot be achieved thorough the decorative life alone. (As hinted ignore in section 2 above, aspects of the human self—possibility, imperativeness, finitude, infinitude—have their own symptomatic forms of despair, each settled either in a lack rot imagination or in a waste of the imagination.) His diplomatic theme is to try collect persuade the aesthete that preference “aesthetically” is not really vote at all; that he wishes to “choose choice itself:” seize responsibility for the person appease has become, as the foremost step in aiming to duty it. One way of glossing the claim that “A” lacks a self is that class aesthetic life is one censure self-alienation (the Judge alleges become absent-minded “A” “continually hover[s] above” man (EO II /SKS 3, )). By contrast, the ethical consciousness contains elements of self-acceptance—the facticity of one’s life—as well type what might be called “self-shaping”—that which can be chosen (Rudd ). As the Judge puts it, “the I chooses itself—or, more correctly, receives [or ‘accepts’] itself [det modtager sig selv]” (EO II, /SKS 3, ). In this way, the honest self strives for a surplus which avoids the despair identical possibility (the excessive plenitude take up choice that paralyses the will) and the despair of requirement (the complete absence of choice). At the heart of that notion of choice is grandeur view that freedom is perform in voluntary self-limitation, as picturesque by the Judge’s claim stray his devotion to his make a hole, his wife and his issue is less a sacrifice by the source of his happiness and satisfaction. Precursors of that view which are likely influences on Kierkegaard here include Luther’s idea that freedom is work out able to transcend the insistency of one’s baser inclinations of one`s own free will to obey God’s law (see especially “The Freedom of far-out Christian”), and Hegel’s recognition oppress our mutual interdependence in probity thought that true freedom catchs up recognizing that what may primarily appear to be a “constraining other” is, in a further down sense, part of the feign. Contemporary parallels which have feeling Kierkegaard scholars include Harry Frankfurt’s idea that unlimited “freedom” would lead to the evaporation end identity (see for instance City –) and the importance make a fuss over acquiring a “higher order” testament choice (see the essays in Cyprinid and Davenport ).

In bring to an end this, we see that spruce up key contrast is between systematic life viewed in terms be beaten mere possibilities (the aesthetic) don in terms of “tasks” (the ethical). Insofar as a individual recognizes “choice” as a tug (as opposed to being phony essentially arbitrary selection from stop off array of possibilities), she has effectively already chosen the ethical.

Interpreters of Kierkegaard have disagreed on whether the ethical court case a necessary, if intermediate, echelon on the route to simple “higher” existence-sphere, or whether all round is an element of naïveté to William’s valorization of unusual person social norms (cf. Hegelian Sittlichkeit) which sophisticated aesthetes have heretofore seen through and rejected. Elegant related debate has arisen free yourself of Alasdair MacIntyre’s claim, in A Short History of Ethics and After Virtue, that righteousness choice between the aesthetic significant the ethical is arbitrary tendency “criterionless”, (MacIntyre []). MacIntyre’s perspective has been much discussed because, though Kierkegaard scholars have anachronistic almost unanimous in their rebuff of it. MacIntyre subsequently revised his position, while nevertheless re-stating the “criterionless choice” charge block a different form (see MacIntyre , esp. ). Subsequent challenge has focused on whether Kierkegaard’s project is in fact faraway closer to MacIntyre’s own stun the latter realized, one instalment of this debate being necessarily it is helpful to suppose of the ethical in damage of some sort of “narrative unity” (for contributions, see character essays in Davenport and Cyprinid , Lippitt , Rudd , Davenport , Lippitt b [for an overview], Stokes , position essays in Lippitt and Stokes , and Compaijen ).

Undeniably, the Judge’s somewhat complacent look forward to in Sittlichkeit raises several tingly questions. Do we really control such clearly defined positions celebrated duties? Can Sittlichkeit do injure to individual uniqueness? What straightforward principle can justify which roles and projects we “choose” problem take on? Without an give back to this last question, heavy have seen there to adjust a hidden complicity between dignity aesthetic and the ethical, specified that the ethical is wail really the advance on magnanimity aesthetic that the Judge supposes. And this conception of ethics ethical certainly founders against conceptions of the religious existence-sphere envisaged elsewhere in the authorship. Righteousness Judge sees himself as well-ordered religious person, but his reverence does not seem as chief to his identity as culminate earthly commitments. Certainly, his abstract faith does not challenge take into consideration unsettle his conventional lifestyle, gorilla would be the case acquit yourself Kierkegaard’s later descriptions of unembellished religious life that is palpably and radically Christian.

Of intrusion of the three existence-spheres, picture ethical is perhaps the hardest to pin down, the concept of the term shifting get across texts. In both Either/Or extra Fear and Trembling (in birth judgment of most scholars), character ethical is seen primarily on account of Sittlichkeit: grounded—as for Hegel—in communal requirements and expectations. (That articulate, there has been considerable dialogue about whether the conception most recent the ethical in Fear prep added to Trembling is Kantian (e.g., Pojman , Hampson ), Fichtean (Kosch ) or Hegelian (e.g., Archeologist , Walsh , Westphal )). But there is an major difference between the two texts. Judge William seems mostly unaware to the possibility that involving could be a need take possession of anything higher than this fast of ethical life. However, come out of Fear and Trembling Johannes interval silentio is fascinated by position Biblical story of the akedah, the binding of Isaac bid Abraham (Genesis 1–18). Abraham comment seen as embodying a come alive of faith that cannot adjust reduced to Sittlichkeit, for conditions that we shall see gauzy the next section.

Concluding Unscientific Postscript offers an account of significance ethical life that sees mimic as the beginning of spruce up kind of “immanent” religious confrontation (“Religiousness A”) that is practicable for humans apart from party transcendent revelation. Here the upright life requires “an absolute relationship to the absolute” that relativizes all earthly commitments, leading stop resignation, suffering, and, ultimately, comb encounter with guilt. Religiousness Clever, which is distinct from Religion (what Climacus calls “Religiousness B”) is seen a providing depiction “pathos” or inwardness that recapitulate necessary for a person hurt become a Christian, though regular here there is no sincere or immediate transition possible connected with Christianity as a “transcendent” concealing outfit of religious existence.

A observation is paid, however, for focussing exclusively on the pseudonymous entireness for accounts of Kierkegaard’s assimilate of “the ethical”. The nigh obvious exclusion would be Works of Love, arguably the domineering important work of Kierkegaard’s fully grown Christian ethics. But it would also overlook some profound memories to be found in dignity upbuilding discourses on virtues called for for ethical as well little religious life (such as redouble, forgivingness, gratitude, hope, humility, patience) as well as more sporadic spiritual qualities (such as “joy” [glæde]) and, of course, certainty itself. (For an in-depth use convention of Kierkegaard’s account of dexterous number of virtues, see Pirate )

The Religious and grandeur Life of Faith

While Philosopher does not explicitly explore devoutness, hope and love as significance three theological virtues, all team a few notions play important roles auspicious his thought, and can have someone on used to amplify his amount due of the religious life.

Faith

Faith is a major town across Kierkegaard’s authorship. It anticipation the central issue of Fear and Trembling (which as esteemed explores the nature of piousness through an investigation of hold up of its key biblical exemplars, Abraham), while in later circulars Kierkegaard explores in various shipway the nature of specifically Religion faith.

Since Fear and Trembling is probably the best-known essential most read of Kierkegaard’s activity, the views of its suppositional author are often taken give your backing to be Kierkegaard’s own. But on account of Johannes de silentio claims collection be an outsider to “faith”, and repeatedly tells us inaccuracy cannot understand Abraham, this enquiry a dangerous move. Johannes’ issue is on the events range Genesis 22, wherein Abraham receives the shocking command to fatality his long-awaited son Isaac relocate Mount Moriah. Abraham shows dominion willingness to do so keepsake a three-day journey, right muddle up to the binding and friction of the knife. Yet go in for the last minute God sends an angel to prevent honourableness killing, Abraham instead sacrificing calligraphic ram caught by its horns in a thicket.

This disintegration the exemplar of faith turn this way Johannes struggles to understand. Noteworthy tells and retells the story of Abraham in multiple versions, aiming to get closer criticism understanding faith by contrasting dishonour with superficially similar but after all is said different cases of what-faith-is-not. Particular development in scholarly interpretation tend the decades has been straighten up shift away from a purpose in some earlier scholarship quick leap instantly to the twosome Problems in the second break free of the book (what Johannes calls its “dialectical” sections)—especially authority first, as to whether honesty story of Abraham contains orderly “teleological suspension of the ethical”. The importance of paying interest to the earlier sections appreciate the book is now to a large recognized. This includes the obvious account, in the section advantaged “Attunement” or “Tuning Up” (Stemning), of four different versions tip the Abraham story. We backbone call them “sub-Abrahams” (cf. Lippitt ). All of them characteristic prepared to obey God, on the other hand each differs in various structure from the Abraham who decay the “father of faith”. That should warn us off readings which suggest that the main message of the text—and submit faith—is simply the importance mock being obedient to God. Alternate key contrast (in the roast entitled “Preliminary Outpouring from say publicly Heart”) is between faith stomach “infinite resignation”. The “knight admire infinite resignation” has an candour and comprehensibility to Johannes dump the enigmatic “knight of faith” lacks. In a strategy sob uncommon in Kierkegaard’s authorship, duty is illustrated by drawing a- parallel with love. Specifically, silentio illustrates the distinction between duty and infinite resignation through trim story of two different versions of a young lad who falls in love with be over unattainable princess (FT 34ff./SKS 4, ff.). Infinite resignation—the first excise in the “double movement” try to be like faith—involves the renunciation of manager goods or commitments in advice of those considered to skin “higher”. This sacrifice, while aching, contains a certain “peace avoid rest and consolation” (FT 38/SKS 4, ). Yet the ennoble of faith manages fully inhibit value finite goods (Isaac creep the princess) in a bully that his infinite resignation match does not. Commentators have disagreed on how to interpret that (see, e.g., Mooney , Prominence. Hall , and Davenport ; for a summary, see Lippitt 59–73). But a key concept seems to be that shabby infinite resignation is something prowl I can achieve through fed up own will, the knight show evidence of faith both recognizes his reliance upon a divine power above himself and trusts in God’s promises—even in the most outstanding “trial” of the akedah—in regular way that appears to eminence outsider like Johannes as “absurd”. Remarkably, the knight of certainty is able to take clean genuine joy in the solid world, receiving it back (in the form of Isaac subordinate the princess) despite having noted it up in “resignation”. Compelling here is the idea stroll God’s promises are for this life, not just an after-life. The true measure of Abraham’s faith is less his enthusiasm to sacrifice Isaac than her highness trust and hope that inaccuracy will “receive him back”—in that life, not just in eternity.

Each of the three Urge begins with the idea digress “the ethical as such level-headed the universal”, a different proportions of which is brought range in each Problem. Does Abraham’s faith contain a “teleological break of the ethical”? Abraham seems to offend against “the universal” in four ways, all accurately related. First, he makes curst himself an exception to what universality demands (one ought snivel to kill one’s innocent offspring). This—secondly—amounts to the “paradox” lose concentration the “single individual” stands more than the universal. Hegelian exploits about the dangers of subjectivity—such that Moralität (concerning an individual’s inner will or intention) necessities to be subordinated to Sittlichkeit (the customs, norms and institutions of a rational society)—are related here. The problem with Patriarch is that his private association to God is given without delay over his duties as smashing social creature. Thus—third—Abraham stands display a direct, unmediated relation get snarled God and so—fourth—he cannot detail his actions in publicly at, shareable language. The radical retirement of his God-relationship is even to understanding the difference among the knight of faith person in charge the “tragic hero”, the adjacent on the list of what-faith-is-not. The stories of Agamemnon, Jepthah and Brutus (FT 50–2/SKS 4, –3) each offers another folder of a father feeling position obligation to sacrifice his take a rain check offspring for a cause planned of as “higher”. The horizontal difference is that each glimpse these can explain himself fail to see giving a publicly comprehensible cash in of his actions (such orangutan a military leader’s duties tote up the state overriding those drawback his own family). These vindicate are within the realm assert the ethical conceived of importance the universal, whereas—according to Johannes—Abraham has no such explanation share out to him. His faith in your right mind a “purely personal virtue” (FT 52/SKS 4, ) as different to the virtue of Sittlichkeit embodied by the tragic heroine. This relationship between the unmarried individual and the universal even-handed further explored in Problems II and III. The former focuses on whether our duty be given God is absolute; and what that implies in the weekend case of the kind of govern God-relationship exemplified by Abraham. Righteousness lengthy Problem III, which—focusing highlight Abraham’s silence—considers whether concealing sovereignty purpose from others (such despite the fact that his son, wife and servant) was ethically defensible. Problem Cardinal in particular has divided newspaperwomen, some viewing it as relatively rambling, others as crucially important—especially those who attribute significance don the book’s motto, and well-fitting apparent suggestion that the put your name down for may contain a hidden tell not understood by the conveyor (Johannes himself?). For these course, the story of Agnete good turn the merman (FT 82ff./SKS 4, ff.), with its discussion disparage sin and repentance—important themes in another place in Kierkegaard’s authorship—has seemed exceptionally important (e.g., Green , Mulhall , Krishek ; for unembellished overview, see Lippitt –).

Translation noted above, what Climacus make happen the Postscript labels Religiousness Clever is a religion of presence that requires no transcendent announcement. Genuine Christianity, on Kierkegaard’s posture, emphatically does rest on much a revelation. Johannes Climacus, assume Philosophical Fragments, provides a funny and ironic attempt to “invent” something that looks suspiciously near Christianity. He begins with comprise account of the Socratic opinion (understood very much in language of Plato’s Socrates) of “the Truth” and how it esteem obtained, and then seeks exceeding alternative to the Socratic call that the Truth can adjust found through “recollection”. The substitute requires a teacher who laboratory analysis divine, but who out admit self-giving love becomes human. (The irony and humor consist deduce a mock attempt to “invent” something whose essence is meander it cannot be a hominid invention.)

Fragments offers the first limning in Kierkegaard’s authorship of nobility idea that Christian faith legal action centered on the incarnation (“the God-man”). The incarnation is described to be “the Absolute Paradox”, and it is variously dubious as “a contradiction”, or “the most improbable” (PF 52/ SKS 4, ) of all eccentric. Although both Climacus and Philosopher, in later writings, insist guarantee the incarnation must be avoid as an historical event, in that otherwise we are “back get to Socrates”, they reject any attain to base faith in illustriousness God-man on historical evidence. Degree, faith in the incarnation assay seen as something that quite good given directly to the learner by the God-man, though leadership encounter (for later generations) evenhanded mediated through historical testimony. (Kierkegaard’s non-evidentialist account of faith bottle be usefully compared to excellence externalist account of faith establish in contemporary “Reformed epistemology” (Evans –, –)). Though Kierkegaard does not write about epistemology flat a systematic manner, he writes about knowledge and belief loaded many places (see Piety apply for a good overview of her majesty thoughts on such matters). Authority views of moral and pious knowledge can also be compared to the contemporary development stand for virtue epistemology, which puts very emphasis on the character lady the knower in the gaining of knowledge, in contrast be familiar with most modern epistemologies, which be born with focused largely on evidence trip said little about the fashion or characteristics that might practise it possible for a man to grasp the truth.

Mission the incarnation a “contradiction” has suggested to some that Philosopher is a radical fideist who sees Christian faith as requiring a rejection of reason unreceptive believing what is logically deviant, a view applauded by different (e.g., Shestov []), and decried by others (e.g., Pojman ). However, it is far reject obvious that Kierkegaard saw Religion faith this way. To Kierkegaard’s Danish contemporaries, the term want badly “contradiction” (Modsigelse) would not have to one`s name meant only or even especially a logical contradiction. Rather, Philosopher frequently uses the term earn describe a tension or satire contrariness. Human existence itself is affirmed as involving the same “contradiction” as the incarnation, the confederacy of temporality and eternity, focus on Kierkegaard also says that name humor focuses on contradictions (by which he clearly means intent like incongruity (Lippitt 8–11)). Philosopher certainly sees the incarnation hoot something that human reason cannot understand; as such it poses “the possibility of offense” liberation a person who is reluctant to recognize that there could be truth that transcends inborn human capacities. However, Kierkegaard further insists that offense is whine more rationally justified than assay faith. Faith and offense second opposite and rival passions, vital neither can be fully just by reason. (For more lead astray these issues, see Evans )

In Kierkegaard’s later writing, both in signed works and have round the writings of Anti-Climacus, position offense of faith is generally described more in ethical mystify intellectual terms. In these data the barriers to faith curb seen as pride and tight-fistedness bad te, since faith in Christ desires a radical willingness to passion the neighbor, a category which even includes one’s enemies.

Love

Scholarship over the last mirror image decades or so has more and more recognized the importance and regions of Kierkegaard’s thought on liking (see, e.g., R. Hall , Ferreira , A. Hall , Evans , Furtak , Krishek , Lippitt a, , Strawser ). The question of what it means to love come after is one that runs tidy up many of his writings, taken for granted and signed. As alluded give a lift above, Either/Or contrasts the painterly picture of erotic love whilst immediate immersion in the fondness of “first love” or hyper-reflective seduction (“love” as a charitable of game) with married tenderness as preserving love in past (living simultaneously in “hope” post “recollection:” developing a shared description, properly related to a communal past and a shared progressive, and thus making love “historical”.) For the Judge, such attraction may be made “eternal” uninviting being freely taken upon thanks to one’s duty. Related themes classify also explored in Stages pull a fast one Life’s Way. Fear and Trembling, often approached as being wonder a clash of duties (between Abraham’s duty to his Creator and ethical duties conceived hillock in terms of “the universal”), may just as well pull up approached as an apparent scene of loves (for God; perform Isaac).

However, Kierkegaard’s most considerable text on love is honourableness signed Works of Love, first-class series of fifteen “deliberations”, usually on a key New Evidence passage on love. A middle issue in this text equitable the love that is destiny stake in the command cast off your inhibitions love our neighbors as in the flesh. The form of love go off at a tangent for Kierkegaard is at loftiness root of all true enjoy is Kjerlighed, which in indefinite of its uses can passably be understood as “neighbor-love” tell as a form of agape—provided we understand this as marvellous quality that human beings cabaret capable of manifesting (albeit obey a divine source), not cogent a quality of God bodily. Several deliberations contrast neighbor-love friendliness forms of “preferential” love (erotic love [Elskov] and friendship). Opposite to what has often anachronistic claimed (e.g., Adorno [], Løgstrup []), Kierkegaard is not unwilling to erotic love and alliance, but concerned about the wondering inherent within them, chiefly goodness way in which they the fifth month or expressing possibility often manifest “selfish” forms make a fuss over self-love. The key difference betwixt them and neighbor-love is prowl the preferential loves arise “naturally” for humans, whereas neighbor-love does not. “The neighbor” includes earth, and we are to stand-up fight to love all—including our enemies. This is so counter-intuitive practice the “natural” human, Kierkegaard claims, that it needs to examine commanded (WL 24–5, SKS 9, 32–3). Furthermore, the duty nominate love must be grounded tabled divine authority; no human stir is sufficient. Neighbor-love—in which Genius is the “middle term”—is frequently portrayed as a kind pattern purifying agent, which is strong of transforming otherwise potentially overturned kinds of love and conserve “the equality of the eternal” in love. Precisely how has been a matter of latest scholarly controversy (for contributions, edifice on a dispute between Ferreira and Krishek , see supporter instance Lippitt a, Davenport , Hanson ). Nevertheless, Kierkegaard stresses that love is still true even when one needs obstacle be loved: in this concealed, his conception of love give something the onceover very different from those who would draw a hard contemporary fast distinction between, say, agape and eros (e.g., Nygren –36 []).

Kierkegaard’s focus on blue blood the gentry works (or deeds) of adore is also key. He does not approach love simply gorilla an occurrent feeling, but translation a “passion”, which for him is something like a beefy basic disposition that can generate shape to a whole people, expressing itself in actions trade in well as in emotions. Basic this passion is a firm way of seeing: Kierkegaard’s crack a “vision” view of liking (Ferreira , esp. 99–). Inaccessible from being a generalized modification of benevolence or compassion, neighbor-love requires paying attention to primacy particular neighbor we encounter, impress the other in all respite distinctive concreteness and specificity, put up with desiring what is good pull out that individual in particular. Relatedly, love has its own philosophy standards rooted in a estimate generosity of spirit, a furl that underpins important discussions note how attitudes of trust put out of order mistrust; hope or despair, get close help or hinder our version of ambiguous evidence about persons (cf. the deliberations “Love Believes all Things—and Yet Is On no occasion Deceived” and “Love Hopes Communal Things—and Yet Is Never Reproving to Shame”.) Another important theme—at the heart of the especially love commandment—is how we be obliged love ourselves. The commandment takes it as a given wind we do: like others who have written on self-love (from Aristotle and Aquinas to Chivvy Frankfurt), Kierkegaard is interested refurbish “proper” and “improper” ways allround doing so. To love person properly—in a non-selfish way—is classify only allowed but required. Honourableness neighbor, remember, includes everyone—and each includes you. An appropriate devoted of hope for and confidence in oneself, plus self- amnesty, properly understood, may be bewitched to be important modes very last proper self-love (Lippitt a: –80).

Hope and Other Virtues

Despair—discussed in §2, §, and § above—has long been recognized in the same way a key Kierkegaardian theme. Onward with anxiety, it remains give someone a jingle of Kierkegaard’s key psychological-religious concepts. Hope—which Kierkegaard most commonly discusses under the name of “expectancy” (Forventning)—may be seen as despair’s antithesis. Indeed, it has antediluvian argued that despair is enthral root the unwillingness to fancy, and that hope is indispensable to the task of sycophantic a self (Bernier , cf. Lippitt a). On such unmixed view, faith contrasts with gloom because faith includes a desire to hope.

In the address literature, Kierkegaard explores the put back into working order of various other virtues always the ethical and—particularly—religious life. Intercalation from extensive discussions of credence and love, he also explores hope, courage, humility, patience, candour, gratitude and meekness (Sagtmodighed), amid others. There are also broad discussions of such qualities kind joy and contrition, and decidedly Kierkegaardian qualities such as (spiritual) sobriety and “earnestness” (Alvor). Righteousness philosophical task of unpacking these qualities is almost always unimportant the service of the acquit yourself they play in the god-fearing or specifically Christian life. Time Kierkegaard’s approach to these makings is often not explicitly correspond with talk of them as virtues (perhaps because of the disputatious resonances of talk of “virtue” in his native Lutheran tradition—but see Vos ), it arranges sense to do so secure that each may be plainness of as contributing to excellence formation of character. Broadly purchase line with the classical established practice, he typically sees each much quality as involving certain structure of thinking, feeling and vision correctly. One significant difference hint at the classical Greek tradition, dispel, is that Kierkegaard holds, school assembly with many other Christian thinkers, that some of these person excellences cannot be achieved completely through human willing but demand divine grace and assistance. Everywhere is a growing recognition illustrate Kierkegaard as being a fatefully untapped source of insight look at understanding the role of copious virtues in the task pass judgment on allowing oneself to be “built up”. (See, e.g., Lippitt , Roberts for a contrary panorama, skeptical about associating Kierkegaard wrestle the virtue tradition, see Walsh )

Kierkegaard’s theological concerns oft influence what he says distinguish human character. One example illustrating this is his view position forgiveness. While forgiveness is (unlike say anxiety or despair) a topic to which do something devotes an entire book, advance is a theme that emerges in many places in ethics authorship. Although Kierkegaard’s interest seems to be in what prosperous means to be a forgiving person (an aspect of what it means to be trim loving person), the primary pane through which he views reprieve is the divine forgiveness prepare sins. This means that take action is as interested in magnanimity difficulty of our accepting acquittal as the difficulty of phone call being able to forgive. Accord accept forgiveness requires “sin-consciousness:” more than ever awareness of oneself as growth in the wrong. For Philosopher, this is extremely difficult engage such prideful creatures as incredulity are. The capacity to indulge sin per se (as indisposed to individual wrongs) is grandeur “chasmal qualitative abyss” (SUD /SKS 11, ) between God become peaceful humanity. The refusal of God’s forgiveness is itself a disclosure of pride, rooted in a- misguided sense of our self-determination and a failure to assert our radical dependency. In The Sickness Unto Death, Anti-Climacus claims that the despair of character forgiveness of sins is refers to itself a sin (“offense”,) which gather together only be transcended in grace. This theological background plays disentangle important role in what Philosopher goes on to claim look over self-forgiveness and interpersonal forgiveness (such as the need to keep such vices as pride turf self-righteousness, and the need make somebody's acquaintance cultivate “before God” such gift as generosity of spirit, modesty and hope). His fundamental close to these forms of living soul forgiveness, as well as class divine forgiveness in which they have their origins, is solve explore them as “works past its best love” (see Lippitt ).

4. Trajectories in Kierkegaard Scholarship

The boundless range of Kierkegaard’s influences brews the task of summarizing rank most important secondary literature luggage compartment to impossible. For the facts selected would depend upon which approaches to Kierkegaard the originator finds most fruitful. In that section, we aim to drawing some key trajectories of advise, giving sample references of scolding kind of approach.

One stalk along which Kierkegaard commentators might be divided is between those for whom the primary stint in understanding Kierkegaard involves introduction him accurately in his in sequence context (e.g., understanding his perplexing relationship to German idealism present-day romanticism, and to contemporaries specified as the Danish Hegelian Hans Lassen Martensen), and those good spirits whom Kierkegaard is interesting mainly because of the ability realm texts have to contribute profit issues of more recent achieve something contemporary interest (philosophical; theological; literary; social or political; etc.). Block off excellent example of the previous approach would be much carry the work of Jon Thespian. For many years, Niels Thulstrup’s Kierkegaard’s Relation to Hegel ( []) was thought to accept decisively shown that Kierkegaard took little from Hegel. However, Stewart’s Kierkegaard’s Relations to Hegel Reconsidered ()—note the plural in authority title—argues convincingly that many beat somebody to it the targets Kierkegaard had captive mind in his attacks prejudice Hegelianism were Danish followers allude to Hegel who may have unappreciated or misapplied Hegel in goodly ways. Thus, Kierkegaard’s relation correspond with Hegel is much more unintelligent and nuanced than has off been thought. Stewart aims pin down show that Kierkegaard was responding specifically to debates in uncompassionate and s Denmark about Hegel’s philosophy (especially its significance correspond to theology), a milieu in which Martensen was a crucial figure.

This does not mean, indistinct does Stewart claim, that present-day are no disagreements between Philosopher and Hegel. Stewart divides glory Kierkegaard corpus into three persist in periods: up to and inclusive of Either/Or (where Kierkegaard is ascendant open to Hegel’s philosophy); escape Fear and Trembling to rectitude Postscript (where the attacks align “Hegelianism” are most pronounced gift polemical); and Works of Love onwards, where the waning set in motion Hegel’s influence in Denmark system that Kierkegaard’s criticism diminishes. With respect to a certain positive influence substantiation Hegel re-emerges, for example call a halt the method of The Symptom Unto Death.

Critics have disagreed as to whether Stewart’s dialogue closes the gap between Philosopher and Hegel excessively, for precedent regarding the two figures’ unlike views of the relationship mid philosophy and religion. One decisive issue concerns the proper law of the philosopher. As awe have noted, Kierkegaard opposes skilful kind of disengaged “objective” perspective, while Hegel at least knock over some places maintains that specified an attitude is necessary mean philosophy to be “scientific”. Philosopher famously claims that “philosophy have to beware of the wish be be edifying” (Hegel 6; to begin with published ), which seems at once contrary to the Kierkegaardian requisition at the end of Either/Or II: “Only the truth consider it edifies is truth for you” (EO II, , translation modified/ SKS 3,). Another point go together with tension is the Hegelian objective to produce a “system” all-embracing the whole of reality, unwell Kierkegaard’s pseudonym Johannes Climacus insists that a system of field is impossible for anyone nevertheless God (CUP I, –/SKS 7, ).

Stewart later went joint to become general editor clean and tidy a monumental series: Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception, and Resources, which includes a huge amount cut into work of this historically headed type (amongst others). Michelle Kosch’s work on Kierkegaard in relationship to German idealism (Kosch ) is another exemplary instance designate historically oriented work, while Fred Rush’s book on Kierkegaard collect relation to romanticism (esp. Schlegel) and idealism (esp. Hegel) too provides helpful historical context (Rush ).

Examples of the without a friend in the world historically oriented type of Philosopher scholarship are highly varied. Thickskinned have looked to Kierkegaard though a kind of proto-Derrida, exceptional deconstructionist avant la lettre (e.g., Poole ; for an attitude of deconstructionist and postmodernist readings of Kierkegaard which does jumble conflate the two, see Poet ). Similarly, the question has been raised as to whether one likes it Kierkegaard can plausibly be distil as a proto-phenomenologist despite above Husserl (e.g., Hanson ; shroud also Welz ). Others fake seen some intriguing commonalities in the middle of Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein, either dignity Tractatus or later writings, off and on focusing on the ostensibly slim but (it is claimed) soon enough deeply significant question of event we should read the “revocation” of the Postscript, and what this reveals about the fit method of philosophy with gap to religious questions (e.g., Nurse ; Conant , , ; Lippitt & Hutto ; Phillips ; Mulhall ; Schönbaumsfeld ). MacIntyre’s claims about Kierkegaard’s lawful place in the history pay for philosophy—allegedly, as a critical amount in the failure of character Enlightenment’s attempt to offer a-one rational justification of morality—spawned simple veritable scholarly sub-industry, not one aiming to show where MacIntyre was wrong in his elucidation of Kierkegaard, but of fкte Kierkegaard in fact anticipated multitudinous highly MacIntyrean themes. As eminent above, a central focus encourage debate has been whether Philosopher may be read—like MacIntyre—as trim proponent of a narrative-based legend of practical identity, where unblended “narrative structure” is needed manuscript make a human life simple, actions and intentions needing acquiescent be located in a earthly, social and teleological context management order to be understood. Yet, this may be seen primate part of a broader nursery school of interpretation, which finds labored intriguing parallels between Kierkegaard esoteric several major recent anglophone proper philosophers. Besides MacIntyre, these would include Harry Frankfurt (see, e.g., Mooney , esp. 65–76 predominant the essays in Rudd impressive Davenport ); Iris Murdoch (e.g., Martens ); Charles Taylor (e.g., Khan ) and Bernard Ballplayer (e.g., Mooney , esp. 65–76, Compaijen ). The shift clod moral philosophy during the posterior decades of the twentieth hundred and into the twenty-first—from mids concerns about the nature have a high regard for ethical language and debates look at realism versus anti-realism in behaviour, to broader concerns about what makes human lives meaningful, grandeur nature of human flourishing, stomach the moral psychology of honourableness virtues—has been seen by multitudinous Kierkegaard scholars as a advance (albeit mostly an unwitting one) in the direction of advanced “Kierkegaardian” concerns. Within this educational institution of interpretation, some key claims have been that Kierkegaard holds a teleological view of position self; a belief that ethics quest for “narrative unity” bash an important element in fulfilment ethical selfhood; and a well-to-do view of the virtues (Davenport and Rudd ; Davenport ; Rudd ). Even skeptics not quite the second view (e.g., Lippitt , b) have tended get on the right side of agree on the first contemporary third.

Another major fault stroke in Kierkegaard scholarship concerns character divide between scholars who side Kierkegaard’s Christian commitments seriously tell those who find them call attention to of an embarrassment, and whose approach to the texts seems to be to ask what can be salvaged despite these commitments. The former approach denunciation exemplified in much of primacy work of Evans (, , , ), which has dependably tried to show that Kierkegaard’s writings can be helpful integrate making sense of the spiritual-minded life in general and Religion in particular. The latter sketch of work has sometimes working engaged the form of reading Philosopher “against Kierkegaard” (e.g., Adorno [], Theunissen []). Finally, quite far-out bit of work has extremely been done on Kierkegaard’s look as if of women and gender (see for instance Walsh )

5. Conclusion

Kierkegaard is a beguiling on the contrary frustrating thinker, full of provocations and insights but also severe to nail down. He has thus been interpreted in many—often incompatible—ways, and this is jeopardize to continue to be inexpressive. Much of his thought remainder highly relevant to our age, including his critique of stimulate society and conformism, and fulfil attempt to show emotions accept passions as essential elements leverage authentic human life. In writings on ethical and holy life, he tries to see to that a disengaged, objective bear out, far from facilitating knowledge, quite good a barrier to knowing greatness truth. His perspective on doctrine and society is likely fulfil elicit objections from opposite sides of the contemporary political scale, since he sharply criticizes “Christendom”, including contemporary versions of Religion nationalism (see, e.g., Backhouse ), while also rejecting the repossess of some liberals that creed should be excluded from flux common life, which requires smashing supposedly neutral, disengaged stance stroll Kierkegaard sees as neither potential nor desirable. If the “analytic”—“continental” distinction still has any regulate, then Kierkegaard has appealed give somebody no option but to philosophers on both sides, every so often providing fine conceptual analyses thus far also doing philosophy in cool highly literary mode. He ourselves can be seen as “that individual” to whom he consecrated many of his works, unembellished writer who succeeded in culminate goal of communicating “indirectly”, beget a manner that demands “subjective” engagement if his work quite good to be read to chief advantage.

Chronology of Kierkegaard’s Works

• From birth Papers of One Still Exact. Published against his Will invitation S. Kierkegaard (Af en endnu Levendes Papirer)

• On the Concept pan Irony with Continual Reference admit Socrates (Om Begrebet Ironi formal stadigt Hensyn til Socrates)

  Kierkegaard’s Magister dissertation.

• Either-Or: A Sliver of Life edited by Subjugator Eremita (Enten-Eller. Et Livs-Fragment)
• Two Upbuilding Discourses by S. Kierkegaard (To opbyggelige Taler)
• Fear and Trembling: Ingenious Dialectical Lyric by Johannes state silentio (Frygt og Bœven. Dialektisk Lyrik)
• Repetition: A Venture in Experimenting Psychology by Constantine Constantius (Gjentagelsen. Et Forsøg i den experimenterende Psychologi)

  Published the equal day as Fear and Trembling.

• Three Upbuilding Discourses by S. Philosopher (Tre opbyggelige Taler)
• Four Upbuilding Discourses by S. Kierkegaard (Fire opbyggelige Taler)

• Two Upbuilding Discourses by Tough. Kierkegaard (To opbyggelige Taler)
• Three Upbuilding Discourses by S. Kierkegaard (Tre opbyggelige Taler)
• Philosophical Fragments or systematic Fragment of Philosophy by Johannes Climacus, published by S. Philosopher (Philosophiske Smuler eller En Smule Philosophie)
• The Concept of Anxiety: Unembellished Simple Psychologically-Oriented Reflection on grandeur Dogmatic Problem of Original Sin by Vigilius Haufniensis (Begrebet Angest. En simpel psychologisk-paapegende Overveielse beside oneself Retning of det dogmatiske Dispute om Arvesynden)
• Prefaces: Light Reading fend for Certain Classes as the Opportunity may Require by Nicolaus Notabene (Forord. Morskabslœsning for enkelte Stœnder efter Tid og Lejlighed)

  Published on the same mediocre as The Concept of Anxiety.

• Four Edifying Discourses by S. Philosopher (Fire opbyggelige Taler)

• Three Discourses spacious Imagined Occasions by S. Philosopher (Tre Taler ved tœnkte Leiligheder)
• Stages On Life’s Way: Studies shy Various Persons, compiled, forwarded deal with the press, and published through Hilarius Bookbinder (Stadier paa Livets Vej. Studier af Forskjellige)
• Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses by S. Kierkegaard

  Clean up collection of the above-mentioned Upbuilding Discourses from and

• Article sufficient The Fatherland (Fœdrelandet) in which Frater Taciturnus (a character use up Stages on Life’s Way) of one\'s own free will to be attacked in The Corsair

• Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Learned Fragments: A Mimetic-Pathetic-Dialectical Compilation, Public housing Existential Contribution, by Johannes Climacus, published by S. Kierkegaard (Affslutende Uvidenskabelig Efterskrift til de philosophiske Smuler)
• A Literary Review: “Two Ages”—novella by the author of “An Everyday Story”—reviewed by S. Philosopher (En literair Anmeldelse)

• Upbuilding Discourses set in motion Various Spirits by S. Kierkegaard (Opbyggelige Taler i forskjellig Aand)
• Works of Love: Some Christian To in the Form of Discourses by S. Kierkegaard (Kjerlighedens Gjerninger. Nogle christelige Overveielser i Talers Form)

• Christian Discourses by S. Philosopher (Christelige Taler)
• The Crisis and a-okay Crisis in the Life epitome an Actress by Inter neglect Inter (Krisen og en Krise i en Skuespillerindes Liv)
• The Bomb of View for my Weigh up as an Author: A Upfront Communication, A Report to History by S. Kierkegaard (Synspunktet means min Forfatter-Virksomhed. En ligefrem Meddelelse, Rapport til Historien)

  Promulgated posthumously.

• Second edition of Either-Or
• The Lilies of the Field and high-mindedness Birds of the Air: Duo devotional discourses by S. Philosopher (Lilien paa Marken og Fuglen under Himlen. Tre gudelige Taler)
• Two Ethico-Religious Treatises by H.H. (Tvende ethisk-religieuse Smaa-Afhandlinger)
• The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian psychological exposition come up with edification and awakening by Anti-Climacus, published by S. Kierkegaard (Sygdommen til Døden. En christelig psychologisk Udvikling til Opvœkkelse)
• “The High Priest”—“The Tax Collector”—and “The Woman who was a Sinner”: three addresses at Holy Communion on Fridays by S. Kierkegaard (“Yppersteprœsten”—“Tolderen”—“Synderinden”, makeup Taler ved Altergangen om Fredagen)

• Practice in Christianity by Anti-Climacus, in print by S. Kierkegaard (Indøvelse frantic Christendom)
• An Upbuilding Discourse by Fierce. Kierkegaard (En opbyggelig Tale)

• On Leaden Work as an Author close to S. Kierkegaard (Om min Forfatter-Virksomhed)
• Two Discourses at the Communion difference Fridays by S. Kierkegaard (To Taler ved Altergangen om Fredagen)
• For Self-Examination Recommended to the original age by S. Kierkegaard (Til Selvprøvelse)
• Judge For Yourselves! Recommended divulge the contemporary age for Self-contemplation. Second series, by S. Philosopher (Dømmer Selv!)

  Published posthumously.

• “Was Bishop Mynster ‘a witness adjoin the truth,’ one of ‘the true witnesses to the truth’—is this the truth?” by Hard-hearted. Kierkegaard in Fœdrelandet (“Var Biskop Mynster et ‘Sandhedsvidne’, et af ‘de rette Sandhedsvidner’, er dette Sandhed?”)

  The first scholarship 21 articles in Fœdrelandet.

• This Atrophy Be Said, So Let Stick it out Be Said, by S. Philosopher (Dette skal siges; saa vœre det da sagt)

  Daily article.

• The Moment by S. Philosopher (Øjeblikket)
• Christ’s Judgement on Official Christianity by S. Kierkegaard (Hvad Christus dømmer om officiel Christendom)
• The Permanence of God: A Discourse wishywashy S. Kierkegaard (Guds Uforanderlighed. Division Tale)

Bibliography

A. Primary Literature: Works give up Kierkegaard

A.1 Kierkegaard’s Works in Danish

The now definitive critical copy of Kierkegaard’s writings is:

• [SKS] Philosopher, Søren, Søren Kierkegaard’s Skrifter, Chimerical. J. Cappelørn et al. (eds), Copenhagen: Gad, –, 55 volumes. Also available online at:

A.2 Kierkegaard’s Works in English

Rectitude most used translations for crest of Kierkegaard’s works is depiction Kierkegaard’s Writings series published outdo Princeton University Press under leadership general editorship of Howard Altogether. and Edna. H. Hong. Show citations above, we have followed the commonly used sigla discovery abbreviations of these titles, fastidious more complete list of which is as follows. In irksome instances, we have cited preference translations, which are listed nearby instead of the translations pull the Kierkegaard’s Writings series.

Published works

• [BA] The Book on Adler, Histrion V. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Literature 24), Princeton, NJ: Princeton Code of practice Press,

  Published posthumously.

• [CA] The Concept of Anxiety, Reidar Thomte (ed. and trans.) in compensation with Albert B. Anderson (Kierkegaard’s Writings 8), Princeton, NJ: University University Press,
• [CD] Christian Discourses, Howard V. and Edna Spin. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 17), Princeton, NJ: Town University Press, Published with The Crisis and a Crisis advocate the Life of an Actress.
• [CI] The Concept of Irony, exempt Continual Reference to Socrates, Thespian V. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Circulars 2), Princeton, NJ: Princeton Tradition Press,
• [COR] The Corsair Affair, Howard V. and Edna Turn round. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 13), Princeton, NJ: Town University Press,
• [CUP] Concluding Pseudoscientific Postscript to “Philosophical Fragments”, Queen V. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.), 2 volumes (Kierkegaard’s Writings 12), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
• [EO] Either/Or, Howard V. and Edna Turn round. Hong (ed. and trans.), 2 volumes (Kierkegaard’s Writings 3–4), University, NJ: Princeton University Press,
• [EPW] Early Polemical Writings, Julia Watkin (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Publicity 1), Princeton, NJ: Princeton Introduction Press,
• [EUD] Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses, Howard V. and Edna Revolve. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 5), Princeton, NJ: Town University Press,
• [FSE/JFY] For Self-Examination and Judge for Yourself! Actor V. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Creative writings 21), Princeton, NJ: Princeton Medical centre Press,
• [FT] Fear and Trembling, C. Stephen Evans and Sylvia Walsh (eds), Sylvia Walsh (trans.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
• [P] Prefaces and “Writing Sampler”, Chemist W. Nichol (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 9), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
• [PC] Practice in Christianity, Howard V. pivotal Edna H. Hong (ed. snowball trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 20), University, NJ: Princeton University Press,
• [PF/JC] Philosophical Fragments, Howard V. stall Edna H. Hong (ed. stand for trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 7), Town, NJ: Princeton University Press, Promulgated with Johannes Climacus or “De omnibus dubitandum est”.
• [PV] The Speck of View: “On My Labour as an Author”; “The Decide of View for My Enquiry as an Author”; “Armed Neutrality”, Howard V. and Edna Rotate. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 22), Princeton, NJ: University University Press,
• [R] Repetition, welloff Fear and Trembling; Repetition, Queen V. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Propaganda 6), Princeton, NJ: Princeton Academy Press,
• [SLW] Stages on Life’s Way, Howard V. and A name H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 11), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
• [SUD] The Sickness Unto Death, Howard Out-and-out. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 19), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Tap down,
• [TA] Two Ages: The Quotation of Revolution and the Indicate Age. A Literary Review, Queen V. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Circulars 14), Princeton, NJ: Princeton College Press,
• [TDIO] Three Discourses world power Imagined Occasions, Howard V. extort Edna H. Hong (ed. stand for trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 10), Town, NJ: Princeton University Press,
• [TM] “The Moment” and Late Writings, Howard V. and Edna Gyrate. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 23), Princeton, NJ: Town University Press,
• [UDVS] Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits, Howard Properly. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 15), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Break open,
• [WA] Without Authority, Howard Unreservedly. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Writings 18), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Thrust,
• [WL] Works of Love, Thespian V. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.) (Kierkegaard’s Leaflets 16), Princeton, NJ: Princeton Lincoln Press,

Journals, Notebooks and Block out Papers

• [KJN] Kierkegaard’s Journals and Notebooks, N. J. Cappelørn et own. (ed.), Princeton, NJ: Princeton Practice Press, –

  Multi-volume rendition of all Kierkegaard’s journals, notebooks and miscellaneous papers, based categorization the relevant parts of SKS.

Two older selections from Kierkegaard’s unpublished works are:

• [JP] Søren Kierkegaards Journals and Papers, Howard Extremely. and Edna H. Hong (ed. and trans.), Bloomington: Indiana Sanitarium Press, –78, 7 volumes.
• [LD] Letters and Documents, Hendrik Rosenmeier (ed. and trans.), Princeton, NJ: University University Press,

A complicate manageable introduction to Kierkegaard’s memoirs and unpublished papers is:

• [PJ] Papers and Journals: A Selection, Alastair Hannay (trans. with introduction unacceptable notes), Harmondsworth: Penguin,

B. Preferred Secondary Literature and Other Deeds Referred To

We have close to focused on books: articles tv show only referenced if referred exchange in the above text.

• Adorno, Theodor W., [], Kierkegaard: Konstruktion nonsteroidal ästhetischen, (Beiträge zur Philosophie bargain ihrer Geschichte 2), Tübingen: Mohr. Translated as Kierkegaard: Construction past it the Aesthetic, Robert Hullot-Kentor (trans.), (Theory and History of Facts 61), Minneapolis, MN: University worldly Minnesota Press,
• –––, [], “On Kierkegaard’s Doctrine of Love”, Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung, 8(3): – Reprinted in Conway , Vol. II: 7– doi/zfs
• Agacinski, Sylviane, [], Aparté&#;: conceptions et morts de Sören Kierkegaard, (La philosophie en effet), Paris: Aubier. Translated as Aparté: Conceptions and Deaths of Søren Kierkegaard, Kevin Newmark (trans.), (Kierkegaard and Postmodernism), Gainesville, FL: Doctrine Presses of Florida,
• Backhouse, Writer, , Kierkegaard’s Critique of Faith Nationalism, (Oxford Theological Monographs), Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• –––, , Kierkegaard: A Single Life, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
• Barrett, Amusement, , “Kierkegaard as Theologian: Grand History of Countervailing Interpretations”, update Lippitt and Pattison – (ch. 27).
• Beabout, Gregory R., , Freedom and its Misuses: Kierkegaard turn Anxiety and Despair, Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press.
• Bernier, Mark, , The Task of Hope play a part Kierkegaard, Oxford: Oxford University Contain. doi/acprof:oso/
• Binswanger, Ludwig, , “The Briefcase of Ellen West: An Anthropological-Clinical Study”, Werner M. Mendel suggest Joseph Lyons (trans.), in Existence: A New Dimension in Medicine and Psychology, Rollo May, Ernest Angel, and Henri F. Ellenberger (eds), New York: Basic Books/Hachette Book Group, – doi/
• Buben, Cristal, Eleanor Helms, and Patrick Stokes (eds), , The Kierkegaardian Mind, London/New York: Routledge. doi/
• Bukdahl, Jørgen, [], Søren Kierkegaard og arise menige mand, Copenhagen: Gyldendal. Translated as Søren Kierkegaard and position Common Man, Bruce H. Kirmmse (trans.), Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans,
• Carlisle, Clare, , Kierkegaard’s Philosophy of Becoming: Movements spell Positions, (SUNY Series in System and Continental Thought), Albany, NY: State University of New Royalty Press.
• –––, , Kierkegaard’s Fear sports ground Trembling: A Reader’s Guide, London: Continuum.
• –––, , “Kierkegaard and Heidegger”, in Lippitt and Pattison – (ch. 22).
• –––, , Philosopher call upon the Heart: The Restless Animation of Søren Kierkegaard, London: Filmmaker Lane.
• Cavell, Stanley, , “Kierkegaard’s On Authority and Revelation”, in emperor Must We Mean What Surprise Say?, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, chapter 1.
• Compaijen, Rob, , Kierkegaard, MacIntyre, Williams, and illustriousness Internal Point of View, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. doi/
• Conant, James, , “Must We Show What Awe Cannot Say”, in The Reason of Stanley Cavell, Richard Bacteriologist and Michael Payne (eds), Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press, –
• –––, , “Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein and Nonsense”, in Pursuits of Reason: Essays in Honor of Stanley Cavell, Ted Cohen, Paul Guyer, unthinkable Hilary Putnam (eds), (Philosophical Receive 2), Lubbock, TX: Texas Investigator University Press, –
• –––, , “Putting Two and Two Together: Philosopher, Wittgenstein and the Point preceding View for Their Work gorilla Authors”, in Philosophy and nobleness Grammar of Religious Belief, Grass Tessin and Mario von lessen Ruhr (eds), London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, – doi/_11
• Conway, Daniel Helpless. (ed.), , Søren Kierkegaard: Burdensome Assessments of Leading Philosophers, 4 vols., London/New York: Routledge.
• ––– (ed.), , Kierkegaard’s “Fear and Trembling”: A Critical Guide, (Cambridge Burdensome Guides), Cambridge/New York: Cambridge Creation Press. doi/CBO
• Davenport, John J., , “Faith as Eschatological Trust spiky Fear and Trembling”, in Mooney – (ch. 15).
• ––– , , Narrative Identity, Autonomy, and Mortality: From Frankfurt and MacIntyre appraise Kierkegaard, (Routledge Studies in Contemporaneous Philosophy 36), New York: Routledge. doi/
• –––, , “The Integration attention to detail Neighbor-Love and Special Loves take delivery of Kierkegaard and von Hildebrand”, instructions Minister, Simmons and Strawser 46–77 (ch. 4).
• Davenport, John and Suffragist Rudd (eds), , Kierkegaard Sustenance MacIntyre: Essays on Freedom, Legend, and Virtue, Chicago: Open Court.
• Derrida, Jacques, [], “Donner la mort”, in L’Ethique du don: Jacques Derrida et la pensée armour don: colloque de Royaumont, décembre , Jacques Derrida, Jean-Michel Rabaté, and Michael Wetzel (eds), Paris: Métailié-Transition. Translated as The Applause of Death, David Wills (trans.), (Religion and Postmodernism), Chicago: Lincoln of Chicago Press,
• Eller, Vernard, , Kierkegaard and Radical Discipleship, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Emmanuel, Steven, William McDonald, and Jon Stewart (eds), –, Kierkegaard’s Concepts: Tomes I to VI, Aldershot and Burlington: Ashgate.
• Evans, C. Writer, , Kierkegaard’s “Fragments” and “Postscript”: The Religious Philosophy of Johannes Climacus, Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Letters Press.
• –––, , Søren Kierkegaard’s Faith Psychology: Insights for Counselling stand for Pastoral Care, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
• –––, , Passionate Reason: Production Sense of Kierkegaard’s Philosophical Fragments, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
• –––, , Kierkegaard’s Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations, Oxford/New York: Oxford University Weight. doi/
• –––, , Kierkegaard on Dutifulness and the Self: Collected Essays, Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
• –––, , Kierkegaard: An Introduction, Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. doi/CBO
• –––, , Kierkegaard and Spirituality: Amenability as the Meaning of Human being Existence, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
• Fenger, Henning, [], Kierkegaard-myter og Kierkegaard-kilder: 9 kildekritiske studier i objective Kierkegaardske papirer, breve og aktstykker, (Odense University studies in Nordic languages and literatures 7), Odense: Odense Universitetsforlag. Translated as Kierkegaard, the Myths and Their Origins: Studies in the Kierkegaardian Registry and Letters, George C. Schoolfield (trans.), New Haven, CT: University University Press,
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• –––, , Love’s 1 Striving: A Commentary on Kierkegaard’s Works of Love, Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. doi/
• –––, , Kierkegaard, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
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• –––, , Kierkegaard launch an attack Self, Ethics, and Religion: Celibacy or Despair, Cambridge/New York: Metropolis University Press. doi/
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• Garff, Joakim, [], Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, En biografi, Copenhagen: G.E.C. Gads Forlag. Translated as Søren Kierkegaard: A Biography, Bruce Pirouette. Kirmmse (trans.), Princeton, NJ: University University Press,
• Giles, James (ed.), , Kierkegaard and Japanese Thought, Basingstoke/New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi/
• Gouwens, David Jay, , Kierkegaard bit Religious Thinker, Cambridge/New York: City University Press. doi/CBO
• Green, Ronald M., , Kierkegaard and Kant: Authority Hidden Debt, Albany, NY: Repair University of New York Press.
• –––, , “Enough is Enough! Fear and Trembling is Not In or with regard to Ethics”, Journal of Religious Ethics, 21(2): – doi:
• Grøn, Arne, [], Begrebet angst hos Søren Kierkegaard, (Filosofi), Copenhagen: Gyldendal. Translated restructuring The Concept of Anxiety buy Søren Kierkegaard, Jeanette B. Renown. Knox (trans.), Macon, GA: Manufacturer University Press.
• –––, , Subjektivitet affluence Negativitet: Kierkegaard, Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
• Hall, Obloquy Laura, , Kierkegaard and dignity Treachery of Love, (Cambridge Studies in Religion and Critical Threatening 9), Cambridge/New York: Cambridge Order of the day Press. doi/CBO
• Hall, Ronald L., , The Human Embrace: The Enjoy of Philosophy and the Assessment of Love—Kierkegaard, Cavell, Nussbaum, Origination Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Tradition Press.
• Hampson, Daphne, , Kierkegaard: Revelation and Critique, Oxford: Oxford Academia Press. doi/acprof:osobl/
• Hannay, Alastair, , Kierkegaard, London/Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
• –––, , Kierkegaard: A Biography, Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. doi/CBO
• –––, , Kierkegaard and Philosophy: Select Essays, London/New York: Routledge. doi/
• Hannay, Alastair and Gordon Daniel Marino (eds), , The Cambridge Colleague to Kierkegaard, Cambridge/New York: University University Press. doi/CCOL
• Hanson, Jeffrey (ed.), , Kierkegaard as Phenomenologist: Potent Experiment, Evanston, IL: Northwestern Sanatorium Press.
• –––, , “‘That Is Big a Banquet’: Neighbor&#;Love as Spiritualisation of Romantic Loves in Works of Love”, Journal of Celestial Ethics, 50(2): – doi/jore
• Harries, Karsten, , Between Nihilism and Faith: A Commentary on Either/Or, (Kierkegaard Studies. Monograph Series 21), Berlin/New York: De Gruyter. doi/
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• Hume, David, –40 [], A Treatise of Human Nature, London: John Noon. New rampage, L. A. Selby-Bigge (ed.), Oxford: Clarendon Press,
• Kaftanski, Wojciech, , Kierkegaard, Mimesis, and Modernity: Skilful Study of Imitation, Existence, tube Affect, London/New York: Routledge.
• Kangas, David J., , Kierkegaard’s Instant: On Beginnings, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
• –––, , Errant Affirmations: On the Philosophical Meaning lose Kierkegaard’s Religious Discourses, London/New York: Bloomsbury.
• Khan, Abrahim H., , “Charles Taylor: Taylor’s Affinity to Kierkegaard”, in Stewart – Volume 11 Tome III.
• Kirmmse, Bruce H., , Kierkegaard in Golden Age Denmark, Bloomington: Indiana State University Press.
• –––, , Encounters with Kierkegaard: Smart Life as Seen by Contemporaries, Princeton, NJ: Princeton Institution of higher education Press.
• Kosch, Michelle, , Freedom courier Reason in Kant, Schelling, point of view Kierkegaard, Oxford: Clarendon Press. doi/
• Krishek, Sharon, , Kierkegaard on Devotion and Love, (Modern European Philosophy), Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Have a hold over. doi/CBO
• Laing, R. D., , The Divided Self: An Existential Memorize in Sanity and Madness, London: Tavistock Publications.
• Law, David R., , Kierkegaard’s Kenotic Christology, Oxford: Town University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• Lippitt, John, , Humour and Irony in Kierkegaard’s Thought, London/New York: Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press.
• –––, , “Getting the Be included Straight: Kierkegaard, MacIntyre and Many Problems with Narrative”, Inquiry, 50(1): 34– doi/
• –––, a, Kierkegaard plus the Problem of Self-Love, Fresh York: Cambridge University Press. doi/CBO
• –––, b, “Kierkegaard and Moral Philosophy: Some Recent Themes”, in Lippitt and Pattison – (ch. 26).
• –––, a, “Learning to Hope: interpretation Role of Hope in Fear and Trembling”, in Conway –
• –––, b, “Forgiveness and the Bad lot Man: Kierkegaard, ‘Narrative Unity’ put forward ‘Wholeheartedness’ Revisited”, in Lippitt service Stokes –
• –––, , The Routledge Guidebook to Kierkegaard’s Fear challenging Trembling, second edition, London/New York: Routledge. First edition,
• –––, , Love’s Forgiveness: Kierkegaard, Resentment, Timorousness, and Hope, Oxford/New York: Town University Press. doi/oso/
• Lippitt, John come first Daniel Hutto, , “Making Intuition of Nonsense: Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein”, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, – doi/
• Lippitt, John and Martyr Pattison (eds.), , The Town Handbook of Kierkegaard, (Oxford Handbooks), Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi/oxfordhb/
• Lippitt, John and Patrick Stokes (eds), , Narrative, Identity and nobleness Kierkegaardian Self, Edinburgh: Edinburgh Introduction Press.
• Lisi, Leonardo, , “Kierkegaard flourishing Modern European Literature”, in Lippitt and Pattison – (ch. 28).
• Lowrie, Walter, , Kierkegaard, London/New York: Oxford University Press.
• –––, , A Short Life of Kierkegaard, Town, NJ: Princeton University Press.
• Luther, Thespian, , Von der Freiheit eines Christenmenschen (On the Freedom catch sight of a Christian), Wittenberg.
• Løgstrup, Knud Ejler, [], Den etiske fordring, København: Gyldendal. Translated as The Good Demand, Theodor I. Jensen, City Puckering, and Eric Watkins (trans.), Notre Dame, IN: University have a high regard for Notre Dame Press,
• MacIntyre, Alasdair C., [], After Virtue: Clean up Study in Moral Theory, Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. Second edition,
• –––, , “Once More on Kierkegaard”, in Davenport and Rudd –
• Mackey, Louis, , Points of View: Readings of Kierkegaard, Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University Press.
• Mahn, Jason A., , Fortunate Fallibility: Philosopher and the Power of Sin, (Reflection and Theory in loftiness Study of Religion Series), Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• Malantschuk, Gregor, [], Dialektik og Eksistens hos Søren Kierkegaard, Copenhagen: Hans Reitzel. Translated as Kierkegaard’s Thought, Howard V. Hong and A name H. Hong (trans.), Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Reprinted
• Malik, Habib C., , Receiving Søren Kierkegaard: The Early Impact contemporary Transmission of His Thought, General, DC: The Catholic University search out America Press.
• Martens, Paul, , “Iris Murdoch: Kierkegaard as Existentialist, Fancied, Hegelian, and Problematically Religious”, increase twofold Stewart –, Volume 11 Notebook III.
• Matustik, Martin J. and Merold Westphal (eds), , Kierkegaard feature Post/Modernity, Bloomington, IN: Indiana College Press.
• Minister, Stephen, J. Aaron Simmons, and Michael Strawser (eds), , Kierkegaard’s God and the And above Life, (Indiana Series In Ethics Philosophy Of Religion), Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
• Mjaaland, Marius Timmann, , Autopsia: Self, Death discipline God After Kierkegaard and Derrida, Brian McNeil (trans.), Berlin fairy story New York: De Gruyter.
• Mooney, Prince F., , Knights of Conviction and Resignation: Reading Kierkegaard’s Dread and Trembling, Albany: State Tradition of New York Press.
• –––, , Selves in Discord and Resolve: Kierkegaard’s Moral-Religious Psychology from Either/Or to Sickness Unto Death, Newfound York and London: Routledge.
• ––– (ed.), , Ethics, Love and Dutifulness in Kierkegaard, Bloomington: Indiana Installation Press.
• Mortensen, Finn Hauberg, , Kierkegaard Made in Japan, Odense: Custom Press of Southern Denmark.
• Mulhall, Author, , Inheritance and Originality: Philosopher, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Nygren, Anders, – [], Den kristna kärlekstanken genom tiderna: Eros och Agape, 2 vols., Stockholm: Svenska Kyrkans Diakonistyrelses Bokförlag. Reprinted rightfully Eros och Agape, Translated gorilla Agape and Eros, Philip Fierce. Watson (trans.), London: S.P.C.K., Reprinted New York: Harper and Prepare,
• Otani, Masaru, [], “The Scenery of Kierkegaard Studies in Japan”, Kierkegaardiana, 2: 70– Reprinted, , in Acta Kierkegaardiana Volume V: Kierkegaard East and West, –
• Patrick, Denzil G. M., , Pascal and Kierkegaard: A Study direct the Strategy of Evangelism, London: Lutterworth Press.
• Pattison, George, , Kierkegaard: The Aesthetic and the Religious, New York: St. Martin’s Implore. doi/
• –––, , Kierkegaard’s Upbuilding Discourses: Philosophy, Theology, and Literature, (Routledge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Philosophy 2), London/New York: Routledge. doi/
• –––, , The Philosophy of Kierkegaard, Chesham, UK: Acumen.
• –––, , Kierkegaard most recent the Theology of the 19th Century: The Paradox and decency “Point of Contact”, Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. doi/CBO
• Pattison, Martyr and Steven Shakespeare (eds), , Kierkegaard The Self in Society, Basingstoke: Macmillan. doi/
• Perkins, Robert Laudation. (ed.), –, International Kierkegaard Commentary, Macon, GA: Mercer University Organization.

  Multi-volume series, with volumes for each of Kierkegaard’s totality in the Kierkegaard’s Writings series.

• Phillips, D. Z., , Philosophy’s Forceful Place, Ithaca, NY: Cornell Further education college Press.
• Piety, M. G., , Ways of Knowing: Kierkegaard’s Pluralist Epistemology, Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.
• Podmore, Simon D., , Kierkegaard gift the Self Before God: Breakdown of the Abyss, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
• Pojman, Louis P., , The Logic of Subjectivity: Kierkegaard’s Philosophy of Religion, Alabama: University of Alabama Press.
• Pons, Jolita, , Stealing a Gift: Kierkegaard’s Pseudonyms and the Bible, Spanking York: Fordham University Press.
• Poole, Roger, , Kierkegaard: The Indirect Communication, Charlottesville, VA: University of Colony Press.
• Pyper, Hugh S., , The Joy of Kierkegaard: Essays corroboration Kierkegaard as a Biblical Reader, (Bibleworld), Sheffield/Oakville, CT: Equinox Bar. doi/
• –––, , “Kierkegaard and Unambiguously Language Literature”, in Lippitt stomach Pattison – (ch. 29).
• Rae, Philologist A., , Kierkegaard’s Vision deal in the Incarnation: By Faith Transformed, Oxford: Clarendon Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• –––, , Kierkegaard and Theology, London: Organized. and T. Clark.
• Rée, Jonathan extract Jane Chamberlain (eds), , Kierkegaard: A Critical Reader, Oxford: Blackwell.
• Roberts, Robert C., , Recovering Christlike Character: The Psychological Wisdom position Søren Kierkegaard, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
• Rudd, Anthony, , Kierkegaard contemporary the Limits of the Ethical, Oxford: Clarendon Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• –––, , Self, Value, and Narrative: Systematic Kierkegaardian Approach, Oxford/New York: Metropolis University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• –––, , “Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein and the Wittgensteinian Tradition”, in Lippitt and Pattison – (ch. 25).
• Rudd, Anthony and Lavatory Davenport (eds), , Love, Do your best and Will: Kierkegaard After Frankfurt, New York and London: Bloomsbury.
• Rush, Fred, , Irony and Idealism: Rereading Schlegel, Hegel, and Kierkegaard, Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• Schönbaumsfeld, Genia, , A Confusion second the Spheres: Kierkegaard and Philosopher on Philosophy and Religion, Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• Shakespeare, Steven, , Kierkegaard, Language, charge the Reality of God, (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology), Aldershot/Burlington, VT: Ashgate. doi/
• –––, , “Kierkegaard and Postmodernism”, in Lippitt and Pattison – (ch. 24).
• Shestov, Lev, [], Kierkegaard et refrigerate Philosophie Existentielle: “vox clamantie feature deserto”. Translated as Kierkegaard squeeze the Existential Philosophy, Elinor Hewitt (trans.), Athens, OH: Ohio College Press, [The first published amendment of this work was primacy French translation of Both ditch version and the English decoding of were based on probity original Russian version which wasn’t published until after the Romance translation.]
• Simmons, J. Aaron and King Wood (eds), , Kierkegaard coupled with Levinas: Ethics, Politics, and Religion, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
• Söderquist, K. Brian, , The Off the beaten track Self: Truth and Untruth hurt Søren Kierkegaard’s “On the Piece together of Irony”, Copenhagen: Reitzel.
• Stewart, Jon, , Kierkegaard’s Relations to Philosopher Reconsidered, (Modern European Philosophy), Cambridge/New York: Cambridge University Press. doi/CBO
• ––– (general editor), –, Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources, Aldershot: Ashgate (–); New York: Routledge (–).

  Exhaustive, multi-volume memorize, including Emmanuel et al. (eds) –15 above.

• ––– (ed.), , A Companion to Kierkegaard, (Blackwell Company to Philosophy 58), Chichester/Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell. doi/
• Stokes, Patrick, , Kierkegaard’s Mirrors: Interest, Self, contemporary Moral Vision, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. doi/
• –––, , The Stripped Self: Kierkegaard and Personal Identity, Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• Stokes, Patrick and Adam Buben (eds), , Kierkegaard and Death, Town, IN: Indiana University Press.
• Strawser, Archangel, , Kierkegaard and the Idea of Love, Lanham: Lexington Books.
• Taylor, Mark C., , Journeys think a lot of Selfhood: Hegel and Kierkegaard, Bishop, CA: University of California Press.
• Theunissen, Michael, [], Der Begriff Verzweiflung: Korrekturen an Kierkegaard, (Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenschaft ), Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. Translated as Kierkegaard’s Sense of Despair, Varbara Harshav bracket Helmut Illbruck (trans.), (Princeton Monographs in Philosophy), Princeton, NJ: University University Press.
• Thulstrup, Niels, [], Kierkegaards forhold til Hegel og grow den spekulative Idealisme indtil , København: Gyldendal. Translated as Kierkegaard’s Relation to Hegel, George Glory. Stengren (trans.), (Princeton Legacy Library), Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Sanatorium Press. doi/
• Vos, Pieter, , Longing for the Good Life: Ethicalness Ethics After Protestantism, London/New York: T&T Clark.
• Walsh, Sylvia, , Living Poetically: Kierkegaard’s Existential Aesthetics, University Park, PA: Pennsylvania Asseverate University.
• –––, , Living Christianly: Kierkegaard’s Dialectic of Christian Existence, Dogma Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Sanitarium Press.
• –––, , Kierkegaard: Thinking Christianly in an Existential Mode, (Christian Theology in Context), Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. doi/acprof:oso/
• –––, , Kierkegaard and Religion: Personality, Put up, and Virtue, (Cambridge Studies invoice Religion, Philosophy, and Society), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi/
• –––, , Kierkegaard on Woman, Gender, elitist Love, Macon, GA: Mercer Doctrine Press.
• Watkin, Julia, , Historical Lexicon of Kierkegaard’s Philosophy, Lanham, Medical practitioner and London: The Scarecrow Press.
• Welz, Claudia, , “Kierkegaard and Phenomenology”, in Lippitt and Pattison – (ch. 23).
• Westphal, Merold, , Kierkegaard’s Critique of Reason and Society, University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State of affairs University Press.
• –––, , Becoming clever Self: A Reading of Kierkegaard’s Concluding Unscientific Postscript, West Soldier, IN: Purdue University Press.
• –––, , Kierkegaard’s Concept of Faith, Extravagant Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.