A book to return to over and over, partly because Kierkegaard is a joy to read. To take aesthetic pleasure from a treatise on what is also a profound insight into the avoidance of self as a sickness which motivates the ordinariness of lived psychology, a dreary sickness, is possible without experiencing the elusive spiritual dimension therein. Yet to experience the dimension, through a familiarising by return of the voice in the poetic, makes this a unique piece of reading.

Version I read only had Fear and Trembling, but it was this translator. First time actually reading Kierkegaard, and i found him an enjoyable writer, fairly clear, with a few excellent points to make. This whole book is especially worth reading alongside the deconstructive project as they both share many things in common.

This isn't a book for "Christians" to read, even though Kierkegaard produces some heavily and thoughtfully Christian analysis; it's more of an examination of the ethical, the universal, the singular, and Faith as the belief in the absurd. I highly recommend it.

This volume contains 2 of S K’s books published about 6 yrs apart — 1843 for F & T and 1849 for S U D. These two works are published under pseudonyms but F & T is from the early part of S K ‘s pseudonymous authorship and S U D is at the end — using the same pseudonym as TRAINING IN CHRISTIANITY employs (which in reality is no cover at all for S K ‘s actual thought and position).

If you are a follower of S K, these two books are of vital importance but to come upon them “green” to S K is to invite confusion and mystification as they are being read.

The style and subject of each book is different yet careful reading discerns the connecting themes in both.

The Lowrey translations are from the late 1930s and at times do little to make understandable in English the prolix and convoluted Danish that S K often employs

If you are a follower of S K, these books are essential ; if you are new to S K, venture into these books with “fear and trembling”

Fear and Trembling describes Abraham as the ultimate "knight of faith" who believes in both the human side of mortality and the "absurdity" of God's ability to transcend it. The faith-based approach to sacrifice is contrasted with the mortal ethical approach evinced by Agamemnon's sacrifice of Iphigenia. Kierkegaard seems to have been a truly profound thinker, and I enjoy his writing style and compassion for Abraham.

I read this as part of my project to read one book from every aisle of Olin Library at Cornell; you can read my broader reaction to it here: jacobklehman.com/2019/02/12/individua...

Second read of Fear and Trembling, first of Sickness Unto Death.

FT seems to be necessary reading for a truly examined life. Kierkegaard himself is nearly unintelligible to me and yet seems utterly correct.

„Ať už se člověk narodil třeba v malých poměrech, přece žádám, aby si proti sobě samému nelidsky neodpíral snění o královském hradu a aby tak nesnil jen z dálky a neurčitě; chci, aby se nevyvyšoval ani nesnižoval tím, že by se snižoval nepatřičně. Žádám na něm, aby byl člověkem cele a aby i ve snu vystupoval s důvěrou a důstojně.“

„Třebaže se jedno pokolení učí od druhého, vlastní lidskosti se žádné z nich od předcházejícího nenaučí. V tom musí každé pokolení začínat od začátku, nemá jiný úkol než pokolení předcházející a také se dále nedostane, pokud ovšem dřívější pokolení svůj úkol nezradilo a nepodvádělo samo sebe.“

Neskutečně náročné čtení. Některé části mi byly nepřístupné, nepochopitelné, komplikované. I tak ale nelituji. Mnoho myšlenek mi zůstane v paměti hodně dlouho.

Though there are penetrating analyses of faith, I was deeply saddened that, as Abraham was asked by God to give up Isaac, Kierkegaard felt he was asked by God to give up his true love, Regina.

I will have to read this more than once. Kierkegaard is an existential genius philosophically, theologically and psychologically.

The Sickness unto Death is one of the most important books I've ever read.

Amazing and comforting

This book, particularly the writing of The Sickness Unto Death, has given me the tools necessary to cope spiritually when in the throes of a depressed episode. God is with me and this painful existence is temporary.

I had been stumbling upon references to Kierkegaard for several years starting with preliminary Danish author research before our trip to Denmark, but after my sister chose a Danish book on happiness (The Book of Hygge) for my mom’s book club, I thought: Whelp, before I read that, I’m going to want to get a handle on some sort of basic Danish philosophy! It’s time to read Kierkegaard.

Yeah, I’ve got a weird working mind that way.

Either way, I looked up Kierkegaard on Audible and picked out a title that sounded promising. Four hours later (over the course of a couple weeks), I am not sure that Kierkegaard will give me any actual insight into this Danish book that I’ll be reading next, BUT I am definitely glad that I read it.

Fear and Trembling takes nineteen verses out of the Bible and runs with them. When I first started, I doubted that Kierkegaard could pontificate on the simple (yet memorable and impacting) story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac for the whole story. Well, not only were my doubts put to rest, but I feel as if Kierkegaard actually held back!

Hearing this, one might wonder if Kierkegaard went all Victor Hugo and the Paris sewer system on these nineteen verses, but to me it did not feel that way at all (i.e., it was not taxing or frustrating or making you grind your teeth at the author for deliberately putting the reading audience through such a prolonged and pointless delay). Instead, Kierkegaard does not waste words in this attempt to explain a, frankly, inexplicable thing: how one—truly, genuinely, sanely—could offer up one’s beloved and miraculously-god-given child as a sacrifice in the manner that Abraham did.

You do not think about it much beyond just the idea that this is one of those quirky Old Testament Bible stories. It has a happy ending (spoilier: Isaac lives). Abraham is rewarded for his obedience. But something here is deeply troubling … or illuminating … and that is the balance that Kierkegaard is respectfully going for. His assertion is that Abraham’s act is a paradox, one which capably reveals the true character of a deep, rich, and fervent act of faith. That assertion forces us to re-look at the way we view faith, and it has the ability to be transcendent.

To try to help us wrap our minds around it, first he has to demonstrate how, by secular standards, this would be considered an act of insanity. Then he has to show us how Abraham’s situation distinguishes itself from the delusional. Then he uses this to pinpoint a type of faith that most of us do not have or will not reach, but one that we could at least strive for in a way that will bring us closer to God.

Kierkegaard’s insights manage to inspire deeper thinking, stronger self-reflection, while tossing away the easy aphorisms or Christian clichés that most people rely on for daily religious living. No wonder he made a lasting impact on philosophical thinking. At the same time, his loyal adherence to a Christian theology probably keeps him from being as vaunted in an academic setting on a college campus. Kierkegaard is his own type of paradox!

I enjoyed Kierkegaard’s examples of other tales of sacrifice to contrast with the Abraham and Isaac story (even though I was not as familiar with most of them). He spends a lot of time showing why they do not demonstrate faith and how Abraham’s situation is unique in literature, and therefore important to understand for its own context.

For a lot of the writing, I was not always on his level—or, to put it less delicately, I was lost. It felt as though I needed to get into the reading for a while before I could start to sync with his message. Some of that might be him struggling to frame a spiritual concept through temporal means, while a good amount of it is probably user error (ahem, me!).

Ultimately, however, I always appreciate a writer who can manage to show me a new way to view something that might feel routine. Someone that can go beyond that and inspire me to be better? Why, that might even be the key to happiness in this life and what lies beyond! Maybe that Danish book about happiness that my sister is recommending is irrelevant at this point because it’s possible I already just read the best version of it already—though I’d probably need several more re-reads to properly process it and find out for sure!

I won’t pretend as if I understood everything written in this book, Just as the author did not pretend to know everything about Christianity. I appreciate the humility of such a brilliant person.