Week Three: Søren Kierkegaard - Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity
Kind of late for the week, but here we go.
Even if you haven't finished this week you are still welcome to discuss! Also, feel free to go back to older week discussions if that's where you are at. It's at your own pace. =)
Discussion forum questions:
Kierkegaard was fascinated by figures such as Socrates and Faust who were keen for new knowledge. But these figures both met a tragic end. Is the pursuit of knowledge ultimately a dangerous thing both for the individual and for society as a whole? Can doubt and critical reflection lead one to be alienated from one’s family or community?
As for my own input, I was kind of concerned that Kierkegaard did not want to subject his ideas to academic debate. It seems like a contradiction to me. I understand that it's all about seeking truth as an individual. But at the same time, you should be able to reach objective truth through internal reasoning. Objective is external, meaning it should stand up to the tests of others using reason too. Maybe he didn't think the academics around him were using reason, he didn't seem to think highly of them.
Anyways, that confused me a little bit. If any of you have more to add to that, I'm interested in hearing your opinion. I don't know Kierkegaard that well as a person, so hopefully this course will help explain who he is as it progresses.
Edit: Also, wanted to throw in a couple more questions/topic of my own since they had to to with Christianity in the lecture this week.
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This week we see Socrates vs. the Sophists being compared to Jesus vs. the Pharisees? Do you agree with this comparison, and if so what are the similarities that can be found between the two?
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The story of the fall in Genesis is used to illustrate the isolation caused by knowledge in this week's lecture. Are humans not meant to have knowledge and are happiest without it, or is our desire to know what "separates us from the animals"?
I understand that question may open a whole can of worms haha. You are welcome to comment even if you aren't taking the class.