Thinking through Kierkegaard : existential identity in a pluralistic world / Peter J. Mehl.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mehl, Peter J. (Peter John), 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy--Denmark--19th century.

Philosophy.

Kierkegaard, Sren, 1813-1855.

Kierkegaard, Sren.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (193 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Thinking through Kierkegaard is a critical evaluation of Søren Kierkegaard's vision of the normatively human, of who we are and might aspire to become, and of what Mehl calls our existential identity. Through a pragmatist examination of three of Kierkegaard's key pseudonymous "voices" (Judge William, Climacus, and Anti-Climacus), Peter J. Mehl argues that Kierkegaard's path is not the only end of our search, but instead leads us to affirm a plurality of paths toward a fulfilling existential identity.Contrary to Kierkegaard's ideal of moral personhood and orthodox Christian identity, Mehl aims to acknowledge the possibility of pluralism in existential identities. By demanding sensitivity to the deep ways social and cultural context influences human perception, interpretation and self?representation, Mehl argues that Kierkegaard is not simply discovering but also participating in a cultural construction of the human being. Drawing on accounts of what it is to be a person by prominent philosophers outside of Kierkegaard scholarship, including Charles Taylor, Owen Flanagan, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Thomas Nagel, Mehl also works to bridge the analytic and continental traditions and reestablishes Kierkegaard as a rich resource for situating moral and spiritual identity. This reexamination of Kierkegaard is recommended for anyone interested in what it means to be a person.

Contents:

Introduction: Kierkegaard's existential anthropology and the search for self

Judge William : strong evaluative identity

Johannes Climacus : spiritual existence intensified by reflection

Anti-Climacus : theological selfhood and the dialectics of despair

In the twilight of modernity : Kierkegaard reconstructed

Conclusion: Kierkegaard thought through.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [171]-174) and index.

ISBN:

9786613895974

9781283583527

1283583526

9780252091919

0252091914

OCLC:

811409152