 |
||
Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) |
||
The subjective us.... |
||
some
of which is from Kierkegaard in 90 minutes by Paul Strathern. |
||
| ● | ‘A poet’s life begins in conflict with the whole of existance,’ is a quote from Kierkegaard (according to Strathern) although I can’t find the source, although ‘a poet’s life begins in conflict with all life,’ comes from Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, which was published in 1843 under the pseudonym of Johannes de silentio (John the Silent), or from his slightly later 1843 work: Repetition (Gjentagelsen) which was written under the pseudonym of Constantin Constantius (‘for Regina’). | |
| ● | Kierkegaard often speaks of the poet and surely
sees himself in that role. A poet has an inner suffering, he feels, that can be expressed in beautiful words, but only symbolically and indirectly. Philosophical truth is like poetry in its form, for both the poet and the philosopher are in conflict with existence. |
|
| ● | From Strathern’s Introduction: | |
| It took some time for existentialism to catch on. Some philosophers – such as Nietzsche, Husserl, and Heidegger – were existentialists without realizing it (according to existentialists). Heidegger vehemently denied this, and Nietzsche died before anyone could tell him (1). Indeed, it wasn’t until almost a century after Kierkegaard’s death that existentialism came into its own, with the emergence of the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre in Paris after World War II. | ||
| The intellectuals of postwar Paris were in despair (2): there was nothing for them to believe in anymore. Surrealism, which had gained intellectual credence by describing itself as absurd, had now been recognized as ridiculous. And with the rise of Stalin, French intellectuals even found it difficult to believe in communism (though they certainly tried). Then along came existentialism, which didn’t require one to believe in anything at all. Indeed, it emphasized that despair was part of the human condition. (3) | ||
(1) |
Sorry, I’m amused by the way this is evoked. | |
(2) |
This is just them being typically despondant Frogs, isn’t it? | |
(3) |
Ahhhh! Those French are quite clever. | |
| A link to two of the poems that I was inspired to read on their ability to portray us. Both are from the First World War.... | ||
| I can see that you’ve done Wittgenstein in 90 minutes Mr Strathern, but I find it difficult to see how this is really possible (despite my having been so keen to quote your work here). Thank you. | ||
