Kierkegaard for Beginners

Table ofCantents

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.suB Jtcrtvrr?/.t ALL DECIS IV6Nf SS IIVHERES IN S U Bf , E C T I V] T ?

THERE DEcISION, To SeeK

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KIERKEGAARD (1813-1O55) livedonlyfofty-two yearz,Yefin hie ehoft life,he wrohemorethan lw entry-five booke, AfLer his dealh,hieworke olippedinNoobecuriiy.

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sla(V our eNorybYralking J/eI'e J a6our,goren'efahher,Michael, TEDEK9EN MICHAEL (1756-1838)had KlEKKEGAARD in eVenIhieyoutrhin dire povefi,Y windsweploanddune Denmark's counf,ryof NorfhernJutrland,where in his childieh aNonemomenV deoVairwhiletendinq eheepouf, on bhe barcen healhlandhe had raieed hie lifi,lefiel lo heaven and had cureedGod, a major ein in NheLufheran Tief,iemin which he had beenraised.

As a younqman he had and comelo Copenhaqen Varlayeda emalloavinq inlo a sizeablewealf,'h, ot eepinghimeelfin booke and makinqerna(Vsocial connecf,iong.

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SOIVIEftMES 8EAT WOUID WHEN SqREN THETABTE EOY, WAS A SIITATI

lf aren Kierkeqaardwao born in C o p e n h a g eonn M a y O , 1 B 1 Zf,, h e lasL of eevenchildren.Hie mother, Anne Lund Kierke4aard, was his old fathels aecondwife and had beenT,hemaid of T,hefiraL Mre, Kierkegaardduringthe periodof h e rf i n a l i l l n e s E ,

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a cerlain senee,younq goren wae eacrificedon

or he almoqLwa6, lhe alf,arof hiafaNher'sreliqioeiNy, luoL a6 youngloaacof the Diblicaletory waealmoeL sacrificedon hiofahher'laYar, qaardwaefaecithat Kierke lL ie no merecoincidence nafued by the olory of Abrahamand lsaacall hia life. ThieeNory,taken as a melaphor,illuminaNes muchof Kierkeqaard'eadulr'behavior'

IIE EELIEVEO FOR,EXAMPLE, IIAD TIIAT}IIS "NOR,MALITY" ONA RELISEENSACRIFICED

llls sPEclFlcMlsGl0us ALTAR. A RELIOI OUS SI ON_a,ASI CALLY }IIM FNOM ONE_PS,EVENTED IT PEOPLE. SEINGLIREOTIIER MARRIAGE,PAR,ENTPR,ECLUDED FAMILYLIFE,ANOA IIOOO, CAR,EER,,

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his morbidobseosion,MichaelrecoTnizedhis <eovihe oon'oqeniuoand Lriedto nurlureit, Even thoughMichaelwas self-educa1ed, he ... ANDTH€NTH€ wae veryknowledgeable, and he took sA1D... ErsHoP . muchof younqgoren'e inetrucilion inlo his ownhande. He wouldhaveIhe boyeaveedropon his dinnerpalbiee wilh Lheelite of Copenhaqen, and afterward he wouldmakeesren siL in the emptychairof eachqueotand set forXh Ihe ar7umenf,whichlha| dur?eroonhad eo?oueed ingLhedinner.

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He wouldteach gorenqeoqraphyW t akinghiehandand otrollinqthrouqhIhe liviny roomwith himVretendinq iL waea foreiqncounhryand makinghimnamefamoue eighNo NhaN Lheywould"oee,,in thal country,gsrenwaoeent, to LatinSchoolwilh inslrucLionefrom hiefather to brinq homethe third best grade.

LtfrLEs,?Ell's "TRAllllllolll fiHE NAMEOF CIIS,ISil1,AIIITI'

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%r^r,herwoutd ehowthe litLleboycolfrom a oredilluetraf,ione ehackof cardedepiclridinqon ingf amouopeopleand evento, euchae Napoleon shoolin7an aVVlefrom his son's hie eteed,or WitliamTell Whoie lhal? WhaNdid he head,Sorenwouldaek queef,ione: do?Thenfrom lhe middleof Lhe Vile)oren'efather ?roduceea pictureof Jesuson the cro56,Theboyaeks,"Who it? WhaNdid he do?Tellme,. ,. Whywerepeopleso badNo him?"Thefalher telle hie oon, "Thisis the gaviourol the world, He wae killedby thoee whomhe wouldsave."Yearelaf,er wrof'e,"Ao a childI Kierkeqaard waost ernlyand oeriouoly up in ChrieNianity. brouqht, il waea epeakinq, Humanly crazyupbrinqingi'

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lrom his mor' liberaued -Z*ialty bid VaeL,oneof the fireNlhingo did waefall in loveand Kierkeqaard VoeN7eoplewho becomeenqaged. readabouf'his romancewilh hie fiancbe,ReqinaOlsen,do noNlikelhe way he comVorled himeelfwilh her.He meNher when he wao NwentYone and she wae fou(Deen,lhaf,

is Eo oay,threeyearebetorehe could7roVerly court,her.He oVenlI'hoeeNhreeyeare well,inqralialinghimeelfwif'hherf amity, aboul her he findingouI everyft'hing f,o could,placinghimselfin a Vooit'ion influenceher aeslhebicf,asf'e,and Frit'z her boyfriend, evenbefriendinq of confiuoinghio poeitrion Schlegel, denceto undermine ?oorFriLz,

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elory, ficNional ln hie peeudonymouo "Diaryof a geducerl'Kierkeqaard t'ells of the eeductionof a younqwomanby a manwhostudieshereveryqeolure. Thereaderol f,heef,oryrealizesNhaI of the f,hewomanie doomedbecauee totalibyof the eeducer'e Vlan.Similarly, of Ihoee whoknowNheNhorouqhneee NowinKeqina Kierkegaard's VloT,linq feelf,haLshe,Loo,was enaredbefore she hada chancelo react.)ure whenKeqinalurned sevenleen, enouqh, gsrenwooedherand wonher.The {) enqaqemenL parLylook Vlace,andlhe wae published. announcemenf,

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ber of the bourgeoieeetabliehment, whensuddenlyfor no reaeonhe shared

with anyoneelee,he brokethe enqaqement,ln hiediaryhewrotethat he had doneeo becauee"God had veloedT,he marriage!'Keginawaoheai1broken and beqqedhimIo retrurnto her,Herfather humiliatedhimselfpleadinqKeqina,6caoe. Kierkeqaardwae inLractableand cold. He

allowedhimeelfro be eeenfrolickinqin queetionableneighborhoode of CoVenhaqen. ThenhedieaVVeared from Denmark and eneakedoff to Derlin, whereheenrolledat Ihe Univereily in a coureeon Hegelian VhiloeoVhy underthe prominen| Trofeesorg chellinq,and wherehieclaeematreo included noneother than Friedrich Enqelo, LudwiqFeuerbach and MichaelDukunin-eachof whomwould larerexerr,a Vowertul influence on European Ehouqht,

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Afuertrheterminationof lhe academicquaraexhe reNurned T,o copenhaqen,bur whenhef,hought, he eaw Keginanodal himin church,hefledt'o Derlinaqain.Whilein Derlinqhieeecondtime he wroteoneof hiegreateetrbooke,Fearand rremblinq.hiebook abouVAbrahamand leaac,and iL contrained a eecreLmeesaqe for Keqina.

Kierkeqaard wrole in hiediarythaL by Moreover, for Nhebreak,hewould aesuminqreo?onoibility wnenhe returned freeReginaLo loveagain.Yet, from frerlinand diecovered hhat shewa6 enqaryed Kierkegaard was T"oFriEzSchleqel, beeidehimselfwithjealoueyand a senseof loee.Somelime laf,erhe wrote in his journal, (Regino morried

''IF I HAD FAITH,I WOULD HAVER,EMAINED WITH

who wos Schlegel, modegouernorof the DonishVirgin l s l o n d sH. e o n d Reginohod o good life there.Butofter Schlegel's deqth, Reginomodeit cleorthqtshestill lovedihe now longdeod Kierkegoord.)

He went to hie grave still love-sick.

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It, seems that,Kierkegaardhad only three oignificant human relationohipothat had a major inrpaat on his life: one wif,hhie faf,her,

onewith KeqinaOleen,

journalthat Vurpoftedf,o Thiewaoa vulqareaLirical eerveliberalpoliLical the hauLe-bourcaueeeby mocking qeoioieof CoVenhaqen, ln facf,,iNwaeaNleaet,ae much for Ihe qooeiV-monqering of a lilllalinq Veep-ohow voyeureand would-be imit at ors of trheu??er-middle claseIhaf,lhe newo?a?er ?arodied,

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barbs. exceol eoren Kierkeqaard,whom he greally admired. Igl 6a,

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oneof Kierkeaaard'e bookewae

reviewed favorablyin TheCorsair. Kierkeqaardwrole a earcaelic leLLerto tn6NT A Cotn?Lt Lhe ediLor,sayinglhal beinq FRoin VOU,MY D6AR t TheCoreair wa6 a SlR, rS AN 11115uLT o r i n e u l La, n d t h a t wouldmuchmore ofer Lo havehie tk aLLacked, which wouldbe LanLamountLo a c o m p l i m e nT Lh , eh u m i l i a L e d O o l d e c h m i d Lb e q a na dailyaLlack on ?oor Kierke4aard, whichwae relentleeeand devaef,aLina.

fry t"hen . Kierke4aard's weak epinehadgivenhim aLooVedVoat,ure and hieekinnyle6e with auffEthat were too hiqhto be etylieh madehiman eaEyt ar6et for f,he caricaturistr's ?en.

He becamea lauqhinq elock throuqhoul Denmarkand wae eneeredaf, by LheqenLeel folk and ineulledby etreel urchineand loute wherever he wenL, GoldechmidL becameaehamedof himeelf,but the mockeryhe beqan laeted longafler TheCoreair folded, Kierkegaardtried Lo ?uLa braveface on it, but the "Coreair affair" wae eurely lhe oecond-moeL ?ainfulevenLin hie life. 14

A_-,n hie laeNyeare,Kierkegaard abandonedh i e "indirecLcommunication" and athackedthe official DanishLutheran Churchin a moel direc| manner,furIh er alienat,inqwhaar, fewtriendeand eu?Vorberehe had,

Accordinqto Kierkeqaard, Vrimitive ChrieLianity had beena eViritualrevoluf,ion Lhat had challenqed the etatue quoand had thereforebeenan offenee lo all complacency. buI Lhe contem?orary Churchwas hhe veryeymbolof eelf-eaf,iefied bourgeois smu7neee, so he criticizedit relenhleeely aN everyoccasion, He calledwhat the Churchwas preachinq "lemonade twaddle."He eventuallyVr:intrd and Vaoeed ?amphleteat, hie ownex?enee NhemouNLheway reliqioue zealoLeoften r/V do in the eLreeLsof our ownciiliee, (The?amphletre, however, were much morearbiculate Ihan trhoseof t oday,e typicalreligioue ?amphleteer,and all the wordewere epelledcorcectly!)

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Hereare oomeshorl exam?les: WORID AI,II,EN, AIIyIEN, AEMCADAERA! END, ATT HONOR TO WITHOW AII4IEN! OF THEPRIESTS!..., THISIS THESECRET

IIW OFFOFNOTHNE. ONE CANNOT ESPECIATTY SOOFTEN, THISONEHEARS THE ANDPRECISEIY FROM PRIESTS..., PERFORI,I THISTRICK CHRISPRIESTS DOES NOTEXIST_YET TIANITY ACTUATTY THEY TIWOFFOFIT

THISHAST0BESAID;S0BElT NOWSAID. IN OTHER ART, WHATEWR WHOEWR,THOU 8YCEAS. FRIEND, 8EI,/IY THYIIFEI,/IAY RESPECTS OF WORSHIP IN THEPWTIC PART INOTOTAKE IT IS EOD, ASITNOWISWITHTHECUIMTHAT THOU OFTHENEWTESTAIITEM), THECHHfiNANffY AI,TD THAT ONEEUU THEIESS, HAST CONSTANTTY PART lN D0fr N0TTAKE A flREAT hNE:TH0U ASA FOOL, COD TREAflNE

Erkeqaard was paseionaT,ely involvedin thie polemicwhen,on )cT,ober 2, 1b55, he fell to Lhe sLreeN?aratyzed.A manth and a hall laLerhe wae dead.Therewao a n e a r r i o t ,a t , h i s f u n e r a l ,a e a n u m b e ro f an7ry thealoqy effudenf,saL Lhe univeraiLy wereoubraqedaf, Lhe way Lhe ChurchLried lo t ake over in deaLhthe man who had oppooed il so bifferly with hie IasL breath,

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Ae had wanf,edlo havewriLLenon hie tomb-

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@rebttsetttll 0f ^#obember 19b5." At leaet the laet na(neie aVVroVriate. ln DaniehiL meano"qraveyard." 17

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i l l n e e oc o i n c i d e d wilh L h e m o m e n Lt h a L h e Lhe had exhaueT,ed l a e l o f h i ed e a d father'e money, K i e r k e q a a rn de v e r r e a l l yh e l dd o w na l o b i n h i e l i f e ,b u L p e r h a ? ow e c a n c a l l h i ma p r o f e e o i o n a l wrif,er,le geemgLo h a v eo g e n LL h e q r e a L e E l p a r Lo f h i e w a k i n ql i f ea L h i e wrif,inq d e e k ,a n d h e c e r t a i n ' ly Vroduced a l a r q en u m b e r o f b o o k ei n L h e f e wy e a r e lhaL helived. (lowever,iL'O l u c k yh i ef a L h e r l e f Lh i m a l a r q e eum Lo liveoff of, b e c a u e eh i e b c o k e werenol exaclly beeL eel\ero.)

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AidKierkeqaard w rireabour?

About a cerLainkindof TRUTHLhal he c a l l e d" e u b l e c l i v eL r u l h " o r " e x i o L e n l i a l L r u L h , "T h i eL r u L hi E ,a c c o r d i n gL o o h i m , l h e m o e l i m ? o r f a n t k i n do f l r u f h , b u t u n f o r L u naLelyit cannol be comrnunicateddireclly. l l i e c o m p o e e do f d e e pi n e i q h L eo r r e v e l a L i o n oo r c h o i c e ea b o u La n i n d i v i d u a l 'lei f e , and lhey are different in Nhecaeeof each i n d i v i d u aK l , i e r k e q a a rfdi n d eh i m e e l if n t h e paradoxicalpoeitionof wantinglo write bookeabouLtheee t ruLho-LhaL ie,of w a n t i n ql o c o m m u n i c a l eL h a Nw h i c hc a n noL be cornrnunicaled,T herefore,he develo ? e a n d e m p l o y ea l h e o r y o f i n d i r e c Lc o m municaLion.

\' THAT €VENYTHING

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