Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/kierkegaard

Introduction

**Course Review: Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity** **Overview** The course "Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity" presented on Coursera offers a deep dive into the mind of one of the most significant thinkers of the modern era. Kierkegaard's work is often seen as a precursor to existentialism and a critical response to the philosophical currents of his time, particularly the relativism, subjectivism, and nihilism that arose from the collapse of traditional values. This course meticulously unpacks Kierkegaard's exploration of modernity's profound complications, making it an essential resource for anyone looking to grasp the philosophical roots of contemporary existential dilemmas. **Course Structure and Content** The course is structured into multiple units, each focused on different aspects of Kierkegaard's thought and his engagement with Socratic philosophy. Here's a breakdown of key components: 1. **Course Introduction: The Life and Work of Kierkegaard as a "Socratic Task"** - This opening unit establishes Kierkegaard’s philosophical framework, emphasizing his self-perception as a modern Socratic figure. It includes comprehensive discussions on his early life, influences, and particularly his seminal work, *The Concept of Irony*. 2. **Kierkegaard, Martensen, and Hegelianism** - This unit delves into Kierkegaard’s critical relationship with Hegelian philosophy and its implications for his understanding of Socratic irony, reflective of his growing dissatisfaction with Hegel's ideas. 3. **Kierkegaard’s View of Socrates** - Building on the previous discussions, this section critically analyzes key Socratic themes as interpreted by Kierkegaard—including the character of the daimon and issues surrounding the trial of Socrates. 4. **Kierkegaard, Heiberg, and History** - Investigating modern irony and life’s meaninglessness, this segment connects Kierkegaard’s thoughts with existential themes relevant today, particularly addressing nihilism. 5. **Kierkegaard, Møller, and Schlegel** - The contrast between Romantic irony and Socratic irony is explored in this unit, providing an understanding of Kierkegaard’s engagement with Romantic thinkers and deepening the course's exploration of irony's role in modernity. 6. **The Trip to Berlin and the Beginning of the Authorship** - This is a pivotal module showcasing Kierkegaard's transition into a prolific writer. It discusses formative works, including *Either/Or*, and underscores his philosophical evolution during this period. 7. **The Development of the Pseudonymous Works** - The complexity of Kierkegaard's authorship is illuminated with a focus on his use of different pseudonyms, each representing varied philosophical perspectives while exploring Christian concepts. 8. **The 2nd Half of the Authorship and the Attack on the Church** - The concluding units reflect on Kierkegaard’s later works, emphasizing his relentless engagement with Socratic ideals and his critiques of the state church, encapsulating his philosophical maturity. **Benefits of Taking this Course** 1. **In-depth Understanding**: The course not only covers Kierkegaard's life but also offers critical interpretations of his major works, making it incredibly valuable for students of philosophy, theology, and literature. 2. **Engagement with Historical Context**: Students gain insights into the cultural, political, and philosophical context of 19th-century Europe, enhancing their comprehension of Kierkegaard’s critiques of modernity. 3. **Interactive Learning**: Coursera's platform facilitates discussions among participants, allowing for a shared learning experience enriched by diverse perspectives. 4. **Expert Instruction**: Taught by knowledgeable instructors who effectively connect Kierkegaard’s thought to contemporary issues, the course ensures that students receive guidance grounded in expertise. **Who Should Enroll?** This course is highly recommended for: - Philosophy students looking to explore existentialism and subjectivity. - Those interested in the intersection of theology and philosophy. - Anyone grappling with modern concepts of meaning, faith, and identity in a rapidly evolving world. **Conclusion** "Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity" is an illuminating course that serves as an excellent introduction to one of the most profound thinkers of modern philosophy. It not only enhances one’s understanding of Kierkegaard's philosophical insights but also provides a critical lens through which to view contemporary existential challenges. I highly recommend this course for anyone eager to engage with the complexities of modernity through the lens of Kierkegaard's thought.

Syllabus

Course Introduction: The Life and Work of Kierkegaard as a "Socratic Task"

In this first unit, the basic premise of the class is presented, namely, the idea that Kierkegaard used Socrates as his model. The lecture begins by taking a brief look at Kierkegaard’s early life: his family background and his education at the School of Civic Virtue in Copenhagen. We then turn to The Concept of Irony and to understand its structure and argumentative strategy. Since Kierkegaard sees himself as fulfilling a Socratic task, it is important to gain some insight into the thought of Socrates in order to determine exactly what it is that this means. So this week’s lesson looks briefly at a couple of Plato’s dialogues, Euthyphro and The Apology, which Kierkegaard studied carefully. After each analysis a brief account of Kierkegaard’s use or appropriation of the given idea is sketched.

Kierkegaard’s understanding of Socrates was of course based on his reading of the texts of Plato, Xenophon and Aristophanes, that is, the primary sources. But it was also largely shaped by the interpretation of the famous German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, with whom he was in a constant critical dialogue in The Concept of Irony. Hegel’s philosophy was a highly popular trend at the University of Copenhagen in the late 1830s when Kierkegaard was a student and was writing this work. So this week explores first the presence of Hegel at the university during Kierkegaard’s time, and then Hegel’s analysis of Socrates. This provides the opportunity to revisit and build on the key topics that were introduced in the first lecture: Socratic irony, aporia, the daimon, etc. It is shown how Kierkegaard is inspired and influenced by the important historical role that Hegel ascribes to the person of Socrates. This week also continues the biographical narrative of the young Kierkegaard. It sketches his life as a young student at the University of Copenhagen and his trip to Gilleleje, where he wrote the famous journal entry about seeking a truth for which to live and die. This provides the opportunity to introduce the figure of Hans Lassen Martensen, who was a lifelong rival for Kierkegaard and an important figure in the Danish reception of Hegel’s philosophy.

The goal in this lecture is to have a look at Kierkegaard’s understanding of Socrates and to see where he agrees with Hegel and where he disagrees. We look at Kierkegaard’s analysis of Socrates’ daimon, the trial and conviction of Socrates, the relation of Socrates to the Sophists and to the later schools of philosophy. An account is also given of how Kierkegaard was quite exercised by Hans Lassen Martensen and his lectures at the University of Copenhagen. We explore Kierkegaard’s response to Martensen’s article on Faust, and Kierkegaard’s two satirical works that were aimed at Martensen and his students, namely, The Conflict between the Old and the New Soap Cellars and Johannes Climacus or De Omnibus dubitandum est. Finally, we also introduce a lesser-known Danish figure, Andreas Frederik Beck, who wrote the first book review of The Concept of Irony—a review that gives us a brief snapshot into the contemporary assessment of the work and also affords some insight into Kierkegaard’s view of it when we see his negative reaction to Beck’s comments.

Kierkegaard is interested in the problem of the meaninglessness of life. He regards this as an important modern phenomenon that must be taken seriously. This lecture begins with a treatment of the second part of The Concept of Irony, where Kierkegaard examines different forms of what he calls “modern irony.” The positions that he looks at are very similar to that of the modern nihilist. We examine this analysis to see what insights it might hold for the modern problem of the absence of meaning in our 21st century world. This lecture introduces Kierkegaard’s contemporary Johan Ludvig Heiberg, who tried to alert his age to the crisis of nihilism and subjectivism in a way that anticipates some of Kierkegaard’s considerations. In this lecture we go through Kierkegaard’s critical assessment of Hegel’s understanding of Socrates and history. We try to see where Kierkegaard follows Hegel and where he strikes out on his own.

During this unit, we will continue the analysis of the second part of The Concept of Irony. Here Kierkegaard introduces the irony of the German Romantics as a contrastive form of irony to that of Socrates. We begin with Kierkegaard’s account of Fichte’s theory of subjectivity which, he (following Hegel) claims is the forerunner to Romantic irony. This then leads to Kierkegaard’s account of the appropriation of Fichte’s theory by the Romantic authors, Friedrich von Schlegel and Ludwig Tieck. This lecture also introduces one of Kierkegaard’s great mentors, Poul Martin Møller, who was also interested in an analysis of Romantic irony as a form of modern nihilism. We see how Kierkegaard is critical of Romantic irony as “historically unjustified,” while he continues his praise of Socratic irony. Finally, we continue the biographical narrative of Kierkegaard’s life with an account of his relation to and broken engagement with Regine Olsen.

This unit looks at the years that immediately followed Kierkegaard’s The Concept of Irony, namely, from 1841 to 1843. From the autumn of 1841 to the spring of 1842 Kierkegaard was in Berlin where he heard the lectures of the German philosopher Schelling. During this time he struggled with what he wanted to do with his life. He decided to became a writer and, drawing on the knowledge gained from his dissertation, to use Socrates as his model. We examine Kierkegaard’s breakthrough work, Either/Or, which appeared at the beginning of 1843. This work develops in a literary way some aspects of the character of the Romantic ironist that he explored in the second half of his dissertation. We also examine Johan Ludvig Heiberg’s critical review of this work. We briefly mention the key works that Kierkegaard published after Either/Or, namely, Repetition, Fear and Trembling and his series of edifying or upbuilding discourses. We look in some detail at Kierkegaard’s conception of the nature of faith as presented in Fear and Trembling. His conception is a highly troubling one that raises important questions for religious life today.

The years 1844 to 1846 were perhaps the most productive in Kierkegaard’s entire life. In this lecture we explore the series of famous works that he penned during this time, among others, the Philosophical Fragments, The Concept of Anxiety, Prefaces, Stages on Life’s Way and the Concluding Unscientific Postscript. These books present a complex series of works ostensibly authored by different pseudonyms, each with his own agenda and intentions. At first glance, this might all look like a playful chaos or a straightforward kind of madness on Kierkegaard’s side. But in this lecture we try to make sense of Kierkegaard’s plan with these works and their complex relations to one another. We see that many of the main motifs concerning Socrates that Kierkegaard originally treated in The Concept of Irony now reappear in different contexts in these later works. This is particularly interesting when we consider that these works treat important Christian concepts such as the incarnation, the revelation, faith, sin, and forgiveness. Many people might think that it is outrageous to believe that a pagan philosopher can help to understand these Christian concepts. Here we can catch a glimpse of the radicality of Kierkegaard’s thought. He believes that Socrates has some important insights for Christians today. This lecture also continues the biographical narrative by highlighting Kierkegaard’s polemic with Johan Ludvig Heiberg and his conflict with the satirical journal, The Corsair. The lecture ends with a discussion of the Concluding Unscientific Postscript, which Kierkegaard believed would be his last work before he died. We explore Kierkegaard’s conception of a parallel authorship that features a series of pseudonymous works that run parallel to a series of signed works, which are intended to treat the same topics but in different ways.

The last decade of Kierkegaard’s life was in many ways the most dramatic. This was the time of the Revolution of 1848 and of Kierkegaard’s public attack on the Danish state church in his final years. This period represents what Kierkegaard scholars refer to as the second half of the authorship, namely, the period from 1846 after the Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Kierkegaard’s death in 1855. In this lecture we explore some of Kierkegaard’s main works from these years, such as A Literary Review of Two Ages, Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits, The Sickness unto Death, Practice in Christianity and The Moment. We will see how some of the themes and motifs that we have examined re-appear in these works. In our exploration of these texts it will become evident that even as Kierkegaard grows older, he continues to return to the figure of Socrates as a source of inspiration. Indeed, he never abandons the great hero of his youth. Even in the last text that he ever completed before his death, he explicitly states that Socrates was the only model that he used for his work. Our goal in this lecture is, among other things, to try to understand what he means by this. The lecture ends with a biographical account of Kierkegaard’s attack on the Danish State Church, his final illness and death.