Soren Kierkegaard’s Repetition
Chapter 16: Soren Kierkegaard’s Repetition
Brief Biography * Soren Kierkegaard was born on May 15, 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark. * 7th child of a wealthy businessman. * His father had special philosophical interests which had great impact on him * He was also a bright student who learned to read Hebrew, Greek,Latin,German and French at the age of 17. * His philosophy, which he called existentialism, practically applied to an examined life as opposed to the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel whose philosophy was deeply anchored in the ideas of Plato. * Kierkegaard died in Copenhagen on November 11,1855. * His works include Either/Or(2 volumes,1843),Stages on Life’s Way(1845), Fear and Trembling(1846),The concept of Dread(1844),The Sickness unto Death(1849)The present Age(1846), and Repetition(1843)
Repetition and Recollection * Kierkegaard maintains that while recollection is backward, repetition is forward. Recollection is easy but painful. On the other hand, repetition is uncertain, but gives hope that lies within the province of the absurd. * He said, “the pseudonymous authors could see that repetition was the same thing as the Platonic recollection, only with a forward movement instead of backward” this explains why repetition is a movement to the absurd. It is most commonly known as a “leap of faith”. This is what most people are afraid of--- to be responsible for anything that may happen.
Psychological versus Religious * Human problems are not psychological but religious. They ought to be treated using Kierkegaard’s “leap of faith”. Human existence is highly religious because man, with all his powers, cannot master or control himself and the world around him. * Kierkegaard maintains that since repetition is highly religious, recollection is psychological. Hence, for him, recollection is to treat life from the pagan point of view. * “Recollection is the pagan life-view, repetition is the modern
Brief Biography * Soren Kierkegaard was born on May 15, 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark. * 7th child of a wealthy businessman. * His father had special philosophical interests which had great impact on him * He was also a bright student who learned to read Hebrew, Greek,Latin,German and French at the age of 17. * His philosophy, which he called existentialism, practically applied to an examined life as opposed to the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel whose philosophy was deeply anchored in the ideas of Plato. * Kierkegaard died in Copenhagen on November 11,1855. * His works include Either/Or(2 volumes,1843),Stages on Life’s Way(1845), Fear and Trembling(1846),The concept of Dread(1844),The Sickness unto Death(1849)The present Age(1846), and Repetition(1843)
Repetition and Recollection * Kierkegaard maintains that while recollection is backward, repetition is forward. Recollection is easy but painful. On the other hand, repetition is uncertain, but gives hope that lies within the province of the absurd. * He said, “the pseudonymous authors could see that repetition was the same thing as the Platonic recollection, only with a forward movement instead of backward” this explains why repetition is a movement to the absurd. It is most commonly known as a “leap of faith”. This is what most people are afraid of--- to be responsible for anything that may happen.
Psychological versus Religious * Human problems are not psychological but religious. They ought to be treated using Kierkegaard’s “leap of faith”. Human existence is highly religious because man, with all his powers, cannot master or control himself and the world around him. * Kierkegaard maintains that since repetition is highly religious, recollection is psychological. Hence, for him, recollection is to treat life from the pagan point of view. * “Recollection is the pagan life-view, repetition is the modern