Starting with Kierkegaard / Patrick Sheil.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sheil, Patrick.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kierkegaard, Søren, 1813-1855.

Kierkegaard, Søren.

Physical Description:

xi, 172 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, [2011]

Summary:

Søren Kierkegaard was one of the most important European philosophers of the nineteenth century and is widely regarded as the founder of existentialism. His work had a profound influence on some of the main intellectual currents of the last two centuries.

Clearly and thematically structured, with investigations into a host of Kierkegaard's key concepts - including 'immediacy', 'sin', 'despair', 'individuality' and 'the crowd' - and with references to a wide range of his works, this book provides the reader with a balanced overview of the Danish philosopher's project, not least by paying as much attention to the signed 'edifying' works as to the famous authorship of the pseudonyms.

In its introduction, Starting with Kierkegaard also offers a short survey of the historical, biographical and philosophical context of Kierkegaard's ideas as they started to take shape in the 1830s. The book closes with a discussion of Kierkegaard and society, and of his continuing relevance to the individuals of today. Starting with Kierkegaard is the ideal introduction for anyone coming to the work of this hugely important thinker for the first time. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction, Historical Context and Biographical Outline 1

i Short Introduction: A Starting Place for Kierkegaard 1

ii Biographical Outline 6

iii Influences and Historical Context 11

Chapter 2 Central Themes and Key Motifs 19

i The Occasion and an Occasion for Starting 19

ii Sin 25

iii Self-Accusation 30

iv Comparison 32

v Stillness 37

vi The Multiplicity 42

Chapter 3 Immediacy 48

i The Varieties of Immediacy in Works from the Mid-1840s 48

ii Immediacy and the Religious Follower 54

iii Immediacy in The Sickness unto Death 58

Chapter 4 Ethics and Love 66

i In Search of the Ethical 66

ii Starting with God 72

iii How is It to be Done? 79

iv Starting with My Wretchedness 81

v True Love is Wanting to be in the Wrong! 86

vi Uneasy Participation 89

Chapter 5 Despair and Hope 92

i Despair in The Sickness unto Death 92

ii Despair Leading into Hope 101

iii Kierkegaard and Paul: Romans and Corinthians in Works of Love 103

Chapter 6 His Continuing Relevance: Community and the Individual 110

i The Impenitent Crowd 110

ii Individuals and 'the Idea' 115

iii Kierkegaard versus the Herd 117

iv Denmark's a Prison 119

v Kierkegaard: Conservative Revolutionary 122

vi Faith in Others as a Basis 124

vii Community and Individuality 129

viii Democracy and Equality 133

ix Adorno's Critique 136

x Kierkegaard on the Offensive 144

xi Alternative Endings 149.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781847065810

1847065813

9781847065803

1847065805

OCLC:

646309402