Either/or

Either/or
Author: Robert L. Perkins
Publisher: Mercer University Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 1995
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780865544703

In Either/Or, Part One, Kierkegaard presents what he calls the aesthetic form of life. There he focuses on a large variety of the stereotypical views of women, from a sentimental and whining appraisal of her position in the world, through the view that sexual exploitation is an uncontrollable natural instinct and/or drive for which men are not morally responsible, to the view that woman is a jest, not to be taken seriously as a moral and responsible being, and then that she is just there as a sexual object or plaything to be reflectively seduced on the male's terms and for his pleasure or rejection, whatever suits him at the moment. Needless to say, this great variety of views of the "uses" of woman has provoked a large critique, and just as predictably, that critique is as varied as the intellectual tools available for the analysis of a work that is as literary as it is philosophic. The present collection of essays treats these and many other of the most important issues raised in Either/Or in fresh and perceptive ways. Even where familiar themes are argued, the authors introduce innovative interpretive models, new approaches and new materials are appealed to, or new rebuttal arguments against previously held positions are offered. Several of the articles, for instance, appropriate or criticize methods or insights derived from postmodernism and/or feminist philosophy, an approach that would have been unlikely two decades ago.

The Unhappiest One

The Unhappiest One
Author: Dia Wall
Publisher: Greywheel
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2021-09
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 9781737672111

Have you ever looked at your life and realized despite all the gifts around you, you still feel empty and unfulfilled? You aren't alone. This is the story of a woman who landed the dream job, married the perfect guy and had the beautiful children she dreamed of, then realized none of that was enough to make her happy. Through the people, experiences, highs and lows of her life, Dia Wall is sharing the lessons learned about happiness and how to keep it despite any circumstance. You'll laugh a lot, reflect on your own life and find out you have everything you need to go from being the unhappiest one in the room to a person who radiates limitless joy and purpose. Dia is a woman who got it all and realized it wasn't enough. If you have too, this is the book for you. Get to know her and ultimately yourself, as we all work to get happy together.

Immediacy and Reflection in Kierkegaard's Thought

Immediacy and Reflection in Kierkegaard's Thought
Author: Paul Cruysberghs
Publisher: Leuven University Press
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2003
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9789058673114

"We live in a reflective age." That is Soren Kierkegaard's overall conclusion when evaluating the time he lives in. But his appraisal contains both approval and criticism. On the one hand reflection is a necessary category to deal with the dynamics and the qualities of the modern age, on the other hand it bears a great danger. It is Kierkegaard's firm conviction that reflection should always relate to a kind of immediacy that safeguards it from becoming hollow and detached from our existential reality. Throughout the voluminous and complex work of Kierkegaard, the notions of 'immediacy' and 'reflection' play a crucial role. They appear in such an early work as From the Papers of One Still Living as well as in the late Anti-Climacus writings, and indeed their significance or influence can be felt in all philosophical texts published in between. That is not to say that the meaning of the notions is unequivocal. After all, Kierkegaard not only uses the terms in very divergent contexts, but his own understanding of them appears to evolve quite strongly in the course of his oeuvre. Moreover, in spite of their clearly philosophical character, the two notions play an unmistakable role in Kierkegaard's understanding of religion. They appear frequently in the religious discourses indeed. In short, Kierkegaard's use of the notions of 'immediacy' and 'reflection' covers a broad array of meanings and interpretations. The dialectics of immediacy and reflection, of reflection killing immediacy and raising the question of the possibility of a new immediacy is the main theme of Immediacy and Reflection in Kierkegaard's Thought. The book contains contributions authored by a number of well known Kierkegaard scholars. Kierkegaard's theory of the 'existence spheres of life' provides a first viewpoint on the interplay of immediacy and reflection. Here the philosophical and pseudonymous writings are the main subject of research. If on the other hand one pays a closer look at the significance of a 'second immediacy' for a religious attitude to life, The religious discourses come into play when the possibility of a 'second immediacy' is taken into consideration. In conclusion the theme of immediacy and reflection is connected to some important trends in the modern and contemporary era. On the one hand it is linked to the philosophical influences Kierkegaard underwent (e.g. from Hegel); on the other hand Kierkegaard is confronted with later thinkers (Heidegger in particular).

Kierkegaard's Instant

Kierkegaard's Instant
Author: David J. Kangas
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2007-05-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 025311697X

In Kierkegaard's Instant, David J. Kangas reads Kierkegaard to reveal his radical thinking about temporality. For Kierkegaard, the instant of becoming, in which everything changes in the blink of an eye, eludes recollection and anticipation. It constitutes a beginning always already at work. As Kangas shows, Kierkegaard's retrieval of the sudden quality of temporality allows him to stage a deep critique of the idealist projects of Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel. By linking Kierkegaard's thought to the tradition of Meister Eckhart, Kangas formulates the central problem of these early texts and puts them into contemporary light -- can thinking hold itself open to the challenges of temporality?

Kierkegaard's Either/Or

Kierkegaard's Either/Or
Author: Ryan S. Kemp
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2023-11-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1009080202

Either/Or is Kierkegaard's first major work and arguably his most virtuosic. It introduces many of the most important philosophical themes that define the rest of his authorship and showcases - through its several pseudonyms and genres - Kierkegaard's prodigious literary scope. In this Critical Guide, a diverse group of scholars strike new ground in our understanding of both this work, and Kierkegaard's authorship as a whole. Their essays highlight the text's philosophical range, with substantial discussions of issues in aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, phenomenology, and philosophy of religion. The volume will be essential reading for any person seeking to deepen their understanding of Either/Or and Kierkegaard's work more generally.

Kierkegaard and the Self Before God

Kierkegaard and the Self Before God
Author: Simon D. Podmore
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2011-02
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0253222826

Simon D. Podmore claims that becoming a self before God is both a divine gift and an anxious obligation. Before we can know God, or ourselves, we must come to a moment of recognition. How this comes to be, as well as the terms of such acknowledgment, are worked out in Podmore's powerful new reading of Kierkegaard. As he gives full consideration to Kierkegaard's writings, Podmore explores themes such as despair, anxiety, melancholy, and spiritual trial, and how they are broken by the triumph of faith, forgiveness, and the love of God. He confronts the abyss between the self and the divine in order to understand how we can come to know ourselves in relation to a God who is apparently so wholly Other.

Read Him Again and Again

Read Him Again and Again
Author: Andrew Zack Lewis
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2014-01-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1630871192

In Read Him Again and Again, Andrew Zack Lewis explores the reception history of the book of Job and the hermeneutical presuppositions of its interpreters. He pays special attention to the interpretations of Soren Kierkegaard (in his "Upbuilding Discourse" on Job 1:21 and his philosophical novella Repetition), Wilhelm Vischer (in his essay "Hiob, ein Zeuge Jesu Christi"), and Karl Barth (in Church Dogmatics IV.3.1). In looking at Job in these works Lewis examines how each of the thinkers' contexts influence their writings and their understanding of Job. Read Him Again and Again begins with a discussion on the importance of reception history in biblical studies by walking through Mikhail Bakhtin's theories on great time and the chronotope. Great texts, Bakhtin argues, continue to live and grow even after their completion and canonization, expanding in meaning as more readers participate in their interpretations. This is certainly true of the book of Job and Read Him Again and Again shows not only how Kierkegaard, Vischer, and Barth read Job, but also how they inherit the Job of their predecessors in the Christian tradition, maintaining features of earlier allegorical interpretive strategies while remaining firmly established in the critical era.

Kierkegaard's Writing, III, Part I

Kierkegaard's Writing, III, Part I
Author: Søren Kierkegaard
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 724
Release: 1987
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0691020418

Søren Kierkegaard, the nineteenth-century Danish philosopher rediscovered in the twentieth century, is a major influence in contemporary philosophy, religion, and literature. He regarded Either/Or as the beginning of his authorship, although he had published two earlier works on Hans Christian Andersen and irony. The pseudonymous volumes of Either/Or are the writings of a young man (I) and of Judge William (II). The ironical young man's papers include a collection of sardonic aphorisms; essays on Mozart, modern drama, and boredom; and "The Seducer's Diary." The seeming miscellany is a reflective presentation of aspects of the "either," the esthetic view of life. Part II is an older friend's "or," the ethical life of integrated, authentic personhood, elaborated in discussions of personal becoming and of marriage. The resolution of the "either/or" is left to the reader, for there is no Part III until the appearance of Stages on Life's Way. The poetic-reflective creations of a master stylist and imaginative impersonator, the two men write in distinctive ways appropriate to their respective positions.

Kierkegaard's Writing, III, Part I

Kierkegaard's Writing, III, Part I
Author: Søren Kierkegaard
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 725
Release: 2013-04-21
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1400846935

Søren Kierkegaard, the nineteenth-century Danish philosopher rediscovered in the twentieth century, is a major influence in contemporary philosophy, religion, and literature. He regarded Either/Or as the beginning of his authorship, although he had published two earlier works on Hans Christian Andersen and irony. The pseudonymous volumes of Either/Or are the writings of a young man (I) and of Judge William (II). The ironical young man's papers include a collection of sardonic aphorisms; essays on Mozart, modern drama, and boredom; and "The Seducer's Diary." The seeming miscellany is a reflective presentation of aspects of the "either," the esthetic view of life. Part II is an older friend's "or," the ethical life of integrated, authentic personhood, elaborated in discussions of personal becoming and of marriage. The resolution of the "either/or" is left to the reader, for there is no Part III until the appearance of Stages on Life's Way. The poetic-reflective creations of a master stylist and imaginative impersonator, the two men write in distinctive ways appropriate to their respective positions.

Kierkegaard's Concept of the Interesting

Kierkegaard's Concept of the Interesting
Author: Anthony Eagan
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2024-07-31
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1666962481

Volume one of Søren Kierkegaard’s Either/Or explores the crisis of the modern secular void—with its attendant doubt, ennui, and alienation—from the first-person perspective of an aesthete who, lacking any epistemic or moral foundations, grows increasingly obsessed with what he calls “the interesting.” In a close explication of the history of that aesthetic concept and a thorough exegesis of this volume, Kierkegaard’s Concept of the Interesting: The Aesthetic Gulf in Either/Or I explores the aesthete’s views on beauty, opera and music, tragedy and comedy, time, unhappiness, the difference between suffering and pain, boredom, eroticism, deception, and seduction, along with the ways in which these precipitate the ambition for increasingly interesting experiences. In this examination, Anthony Eagan thoroughly reveals Kierkegaard’s own perspective on how an exclusively aesthetic attitude can lead to an ever-more voracious tendency to interpret the world in a private, self-defeating, and unscrupulous fashion—one arising from and ultimately leading to moral solipsism and despair. This book develops a comprehensive understanding of Either/Or I that is crucial for understanding the rest of Kierkegaard’s authorship.