Soren Kierkegaard's Leap of Faith: political implications

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Administrative Sciences Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Soren Kierkegaard, as one of the leading anti-philosophers of the school of existentialism, employs an ironic and groundbreaking approach to find fault with rationalism, abstract thinking, heteronomy, ethics and pluralism developed from the ideas of thinkers such as Kant and Hegel. Instead of valuing society, government, and conventional ethical and moral norms, he supports de-familiarization, creativity, autonomy, activity, individuality, and singularity. Kierkegaard argues that there are three stages on life’s way or three spheres of existence on the path to self-realization. He believes that the highest realm of human life is the religious sphere in which Abraham, as a believer in the realm of faith, decides to sacrifice his son Isaac to God with the aim of saving his agency, individuality and singularity from the clutches of moral, governmental and public systems. Kierkegaard argues that the leap of faith is making a decision in the very moment of madness, and considers it as a kind of gambling and risk-taking. He believes that faith is a belief in the impossibility, irrationality and paradoxicality. In this sense of faith, on the one hand, Abraham is willing to obey God’s command regarding the sacrifice of Isaac, and on the other hand, he believes in his heart that Isaac will be returned to him in this material world by God’s command. The present paper, accordingly, examines the following hypothesis: Although Kierkegaard is against the official government policy based on sovereignty and pluralism, his leap of faith, which implies standing on the boundaries and suspending the moral and the general, can lead to the emergence of a political event and, consequently, the birth of an active and autonomous subject.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abazari, Joseph. (2021). Foreword by Yousef Abazari about Kierkegaard, Farhang-e Emrooz, p. 5, www.farhangemroo2.com. (in Persian)
Caputo, John. David. (2020). How to read Kierkegaard, translated by Saleh Najafi. Tehran: Ney Publications. (in Persian)
Carlisle, Clare. (2019). Kierkegaard, translated by Mohammad Hadi Hajibeyglou. Tehran: Elmi va Farhangi Publications. (in Persian)
Coch, Card. (1925). Soren Kierkegaard. Copenhagen: Copenhagen University Press.
Drefus, Herbert. (2008). Kierkegaard on the Self and Philosophical Engagement, edited by Edvard F. Evans.
Evans, C. Stephen. (2006). Kierkegaard on faith and the self: Collected essays. Taylor University Press.
Kierkegaard, Soren. (1971). Either / or, translated by David F. Swenson. Princeton University Press. Kierkegaard, Soren. (1985). Fear and Trembling, translated by Alistair Hannay. London: Penguin Books.
Kierkegaard, Soren. (1992). Concluding Unscientific Postscript, translated by Howard V. Hong, Edna H. Hong. Princeton University press.
Kierkegaard, Soren. (1941). Fear and Trembling, translated by Walter Lowrie. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mashayekhi, Adel. (2019). Leibniz and political science. Tehran: Nei Publications. (in Persian)
Mosta’an, Mahtab. (2010). Kierkegaard: a metaphysical thinker. Isfahan: Porsesh Publications. (in Persian)
Najafi, Saleh. (2021). Promoting Hegel with Hegel in a conversation with Saleh Najafi, The Center of the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, p. 4, ww.cgie.org: ir/fa/news/15330. (in Persian)
Nakisa, Pouria. (2013). The world beyond the wall, Shargh Newspaper, September 18, 2013, No. 1835, p. 9. (in Persian)
Parandosh, Pouria. (2018). Event, subject and Truth in Alain Badiou’s Political Thought. Tehran: Tisa Publications. (in Persian)
Sadeghi, Fatemeh. (2018). Founder’s Power, Sovereignty or Politics. Tehran: Negahe Moaser Publications. (in Persian)
Same, Seyyed Jamal. (2021). A Reflection on the philosophies of existence and phenomenology, Sedanat, p. 3, www.3danot.ir. (in Persian)
Tajik, Mohammad. Reza. (2020). A current is on the Way. Tehran: Tisa Publications. (in Persian)
Taylor, Mark. (1975). Kierkegaard’s Pseudonymous Authorship: a study of time self. Princeton University Press.
Vafaie, Sadegh. (2021). An exploration in Kierkegaard’s philosophy, similarities and differences between Ibrahim and Agamemnon, Mehr News Agency, p. 3, www.mehrnews.com/news/4569. (in Persian)
Zeinaly, Razieh. (2021). The Self, the Other and God in Kierkegaard’s Thought. Tehran: Ansu Publications. (in Persian)
Send comment about this article
CAPTCHA Image
Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 16, Issue 41 - Serial Number 41
Special Issue
English Special Issue: Philosophy of Education
2023
Pages 373-385

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics