Create an Intellectual biography

Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is considered by many to be the father of existentialism, but the central question behind most of his work is how to be an authentic Christian in Christendom. He wanted to show that it was possible to live a godly life even though the Christian Church of Denmark had turned religion into a type of club. Kierkegaard was a member of a very serious sect of Lutherans who were heavily stimulated by the values of guilt and individual responsibility—both concepts are frequently dealt with throughout his works.

One of the most important aspects of Søren Kierkegaard’s thought to Communication Ethics is the type of rhetoric he sought to unravel—namely, to challenge people to go beyond the stereotyped identities inherent to their religious ideologies. It was an effort to get people to see that they were responsible for their own choices, and that they could in fact choose. For Kierkegaard the Christian faith was not mere words that one could recite in order to be saved, it went much deeper to the heart—the person reciting the words had to believe them wholeheartedly or it was all for naught. It was through authentic faith that the individual had a chance to become a true self. To be a true self meant that one was responsible for his or her choices, and these choices carried with them a sense of anxiety or dread.

Kierkegaard owes much of his philosophical beliefs to the figure Socrates (to which his dissertation was also focused). The main ideas Kierkegaard takes from Socrates is the use of irony to elicit genuine responses from people, not to get what might be termed a “stump speech,” or to put it another way, unreflective memorization of church supported answers to difficult questions. One of the ironic methods employed throughout much of Kierkegaard’s work is the use of pseudonymous authorship. This method of indirect communication came to characterize much of his work, and the purpose behind its usage was to eliminate the reader’s reliance upon the authority of the author, and to come to one’s own conclusions.

In one of his most notable works, Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard provides a compelling ethical stance that is both Biblical and provocative to his audience. The story of Abraham and Isaac is the backdrop to the message he is trying to convey—the sacrifice of one’s own son may be breaking the law of societal norms, but the law that trumps all is obedience to God—it is a suspension of the ethical for the higher call.

Kierkegaard is notable for constantly disregarding the work of Hegel and his conception of grand synthesis. Hegelianism had as its goal the pursuit of absolute knowledge. But Kierkegaard had an objection, i.e. original sin. Particularly, the idea that science could assist in any way for humanity to progress beyond original sin was ludicrous. In The Concept of Dread (1957), he states that “sin does not properly belong in any science” (p. 14). For Kierkegaard, the concept of sin has no place in the sciences, particularly that of Psychology, because it distorts its significance. It alters the concept and causes one’s mood to be false rather than genuine.

Original Sin is the biblical concept that man is inherently sinful, but does not preclude responsibility before God and man. Ethical action is still possible, and should be held up as an ideal regardless of if it is within man’s natural capacity to perform ethical actions.

Ethics assumes that man has possession of the necessary conditions to be able to perform ethical actions and for Kierkegaard “the more ideal ethics is the better” (p. 15). In other words, a standard of perfection that is unattainable does not presuppose that man is or should be able to reach it. Hence, grace plays a large part in the thought of Kierkegaard, but it does not mean that man is any less responsible for his actions.

The work selected for this project, The Anxieties of the Heathen, contributes to the field of Communication Ethics in that it depicts the Christian devoutness of Kierkegaard and his overarching concern for his people through his progression from indirect to direct communication as he uses his actual name under the authorship title. Because it was written after he experienced a metamorphosis this text represents the direct communication style of Kierkegaard. He no longer thought that indirect communication would suffice—he recognized the call to be a personal witness, to make his own convictions as clear and compelling as possible.

The selected text is written from a devout Christian perspective that has repentance and authenticity as its goal. The major metaphor of the text is anxiety, and the main purpose is to systematically account for why and how it is that the heathen has much of anxiety while the Christian does not. Kierkegaard’s metaphors—selected throughout the text—contribute to the discussion of Communication Ethics in several ways, but the purpose of the entire text is in fact a depiction of care—the willingness to attend to the other. In this case, the others are his countrymen that are being led astray by wolves in sheep’s clothing. Distance was a central tenet of Kierkegaard. But his purpose behind masking his identity of authorship was overcome by a definite sense that he must be authentic to the other.

Kierkegaard’s historical moment called for responsiveness to the inarticulate good of his countrymen. They were people deeply grounded in the text of tradition, but far away from the true meaning of their faith. The metaphors throughout his text are grounded in Biblical narrative and have meaning to his audience and the Communication Ethics audience because they not only evoke interpersonal responsibility, but they are also a call to repentance—the heart behind the faith they profess.

Kierkegaard, S. (1971). Christian discourses: The anxieties of the heathen. (W. Lowrie, Trans.).

Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1848).

Introduction

Thesis: “the fact is that neither the lilies nor the birds are heathen, but neither are the lilies and birds Christians” (p.13)

Metaphors:

· Condemnation—in order to avoid a condemning tone, it is argued that Christ uses the lilies and birds to depict a life that is innocent—and neither the Christian nor heathen will fit this type. For both have made choices, whereas the creatures not made in the image of God just simply are. That is, they exist within God’s will without choosing to be so. But the Christian is blessed for choosing, and the heathen is condemned for choosing.

Chapter 1: The Anxiety of Poverty

Thesis: Be not therefore anxious, saying, what shall we eat? Or, What shall we d rink?—after all these thing do the heathen seek.

Metaphors:

· Daily Bread—the allusion to manna, and is used to describe the complete dependence upon God for sustenance. It is exactly enough, but not a bit more. The Christian may be, in fact, impoverished, but he is not poor—or at least should not have anxiety over this. The Christian differs from the birds of the air, in that the must pray for his daily bread. The bird does not ask, but receives. However, it is through the praying that the anxiety is relieved—and since it received through prayer, the Christian knows it is from God. “To pray and give thanks is to him more important than the food…” (p. 20).

· Poverty—to be poor or in poverty is to not be able to pray or give thanks—the poor Christian does not wish to talk of his earthly poverty, rather his riches in heaven. The Christian in poverty who is without anxiety of poverty is dead to the world—the Christian lives by dying.

· Riches—the man who prays and gives thanks is richer each day because he realizes that he exists for God and God for him. The earthly rich become poorer the more they forget to thank God.

Chapter 2: The Anxiety of Abundance

Thesis: “the notion of possession is an illusion” (p. 31).

Metaphors:

· Abundance—is false security. Having more often equals having more anxiety. God always supplies the bird with enough—it never occurs to the bird to have more or to have less—what is has it has. The bird does not require all that it sees—just enough. If one has abundance but does not also have anxiety associated with it, he is either a Christian or a bird. To be rich I must be assured of tomorrow. Therefore, only the Christian can be truly rich. In order to know that one has abundance, one must be aware of where the abundance comes.

· Possession—the rich can only be rich if they actually have possessions. And that which has been given him is only in the form of a trust—the owner is God. Since God is the owner, and man the steward, the dissemination of said riches must occur at the right time and place leaving no though of the morrow. The Christian seek the giver not the gift.

Chapter 3: The Anxiety of Lowliness

Thesis: “the lowly Christian does not walk into the snare of optical illusion, he sees with the eyes of faith, and with the swiftness of the faith which seeks God he is at the beginning, he is himself before God, content with being himself” (p. 42).

Metaphors:

· Contentment—the lowly Christian walks by faith, and is content with himself before God just as the bird is what it is. The lowly Christian no only is what he is before God, but also wills for this to be the case.

· The Pattern—Christ as the pattern of life for the lowly Christian. The Pattern of the Lord’s life upon Earth as expressly offered to the man seeking direction for this life. The closer the Christian gets to resemble the Pattern—the closer his kinship to God—Christ lived in actual outward lowliness.

· Despair—the heathen in despair has anxiety because he worries about those which he is not.

Chapter 4: The Anxiety of Highness

Thesis: “the only way one who is on high can truly be without anxiety is not to be higher than anyone else” (p. 53).

Metaphors:

· Highness—it does not occur to the bird that being on high he should rule over others. The bird on high is a type of the Christian’s existence in heaven—all are on high—and there is plenty of room for all to soar in the sky of heaven. The Christian of high position lays aside any false allusions when in the prayer chamber. The heathen in high rank is actually in the abyss, because he has yet to perceive Him who stands above.

Chapter 5: The Anxiety of Presumption

Thesis: “anxiety is to be regarded precisely as a curse upon presumptuousness” (p. 63).

Metaphors:

· Anxiety of Presumption—occurs when one does not will the same things that God wills. And the avoidance of the anxiety of presumption occurs by both willing and doing what God wills.

· Presumption—is an affront against God whether it is large or small. It is presumptuous to be ignorant of how much one constantly needs God. “Presumption is dull ignorance of God” (p. 69).

· Grace—the Christian only wants God’s grace to be and do that which God wills for him to be and do. Nothing more and nothing less. To be satisfied with God’s grace may at first glance seem like a lowly thing, but it is, in fact, the most blessed of all states.

Chapter 6: The Anxiety of Self-Torment

Thesis: “what is it to be a self-tormentor…it is to cause oneself this worry” (p. 73).

Metaphors:

· Self-Torment—“anxiety for the next day is precisely what self-torment is” (p. 73).

· The Next Day—all anxiety is at bottom the anxiety about the next day—tomorrow. The only one who has lost obsession for the next day is either the man who is dying or the man who is truly alive.

· Today—“to cram today with eternity and not with the next day” is the solution for tomorrow’s anxiety.

Chapter 7: The Anxiety of Irresolution, Fickleness and Disconsolateness

Thesis: “God cannot even call to the heathen, for it is as if there were no one to call upon” (p.93).

Metaphors:

· Superfluous—does more to honor one’s Creator than the self-importance of bustle.

· Irresolution—the serving of two masters equals irresolution and long deliberation over whom to serve is hesitation that does not plan to serve one wholly.

-3-