Some more notes from Kierkegaard. 1. In the Problemata sections of Fear and Trembling , Kierkegaard, posing as Johannes de Silentio, poses a series of questions that arise from his reading of the story of Abraham and Isaac, within the Hegelian framework. The questions concern the . . . . Continue Reading »
Calvin O. Schrag helpfully clarifies what Kierkegaard means by the “teleological suspension of the ethical” ( Ethics , 70, 1959). It’s essential to distinguish between the “ethical” as a mode of existence and the ethical as universal moral requirements. When . . . . Continue Reading »
Some notes on Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling . 1. Kierkegaard uses Abraham as the exemplar of the limitations of the Hegelian system. The Hegelians claim to have arrived at the eschatological form of philosophy, encompassing everything, including Christianity, within its scope. Kierkegaard . . . . Continue Reading »
Kierkegaard’s theatricality, sensitivity, and sense of importance, are evident in his diary entries during 1848-49, when he was under fairly scathing attack from the journal The Corsair . One entry reads: “And even though Denmark were willing to do so, it is very questionable whether . . . . Continue Reading »
A friend, Bret Saunders, writes the following in response to my post summarizing Caputo’s account of the “postmodern turns”: “Caputo appears to have omitted the so-called ‘theological turn,’ such as is found in J.-L. Marion and J.-F. Courtine. Of course, this is . . . . Continue Reading »
Hamann: “The connection and agreement of concepts is precisely the same in a demonstration as the relation and sympathy of numbers and lines, sounds and colours are in a musical composition or painting.” . . . . Continue Reading »
Postmodernism is rigorous disbelief in eschatology, in final judgment. And this arises from and is a reaction to Kant, who (as Hamann recognized) believed he had somehow arrived at the eschaton ahead of schedule and spend his life sending back reports. . . . . Continue Reading »
Kant’s Book 4 is on “counterfeit service” or “religion and priestcraft.” In this book, Kant launches a critique of cultic religion. He is not condemning cult and ritual per se, but says that it must not be construed as divine service. The statutory laws that govern . . . . Continue Reading »
Some notes on Book 3 of Religion Within the Limits of Reason Alone . Having established that there is an evil principle at work in humanity as well as a predisposition to good, Kant begins book 3 with the claim that morals is always a matter of warfare and battle. Freedom from the dominion of evil . . . . Continue Reading »
Milbank’s criticisms of Kantian ethics begin from the observation that feeling enters into the ethical mix only as “the paradoxical feeling of ‘the sublime’ which is the feeling of a break with feeling, or the counter-attractive attraction of sacrifice.” This account . . . . Continue Reading »
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