Kierkegaard contra Hegel on the 'Absolute Paradox'
Kierkegaard contra Hegel on the 'Absolute Paradox'
In the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion Hegel propounds three inter-related theses:
(1) The radical continuity of religion and philosophy.
(2) The view that philosophy renders in conceptual form the essence of what Christianity consists in and thus transcends the merely subjective vantage-point of faith.
(3) Philosophy alone shows Christianity to be rational and necessary.
Kierkegaard’s pseudonym, Johannes Climacus, attacks all three of these theses in Conculding Unscientific Postscript, and he introduces the category of the ‘absolute paradox’ (the Christian Incarnation) in order to do so. It is consequently a mistake to think, as Jon Stewart (2003) does, that Climacus has no quarrel with Hegel himself, but only with the Danish neo-Hegelians such as Heiberg and Martensen. For as the present paper will show, Climacus and Hegel in fact have diametrically opposed conceptions of Christianity and so could not fail to be at loggerheads with each other.
hegel, kierkegaard, absolute paradox, mediation, christianity, speculative philosophy, religion
54-66
Schönbaumsfeld, Genia
586652b5-20da-47cf-9719-4fc587dfa4e8
December 2009
Schönbaumsfeld, Genia
586652b5-20da-47cf-9719-4fc587dfa4e8
Schönbaumsfeld, Genia
(2009)
Kierkegaard contra Hegel on the 'Absolute Paradox'.
Bulletin of the Hegel Society of Great Britain, (59/60), .
Abstract
In the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion Hegel propounds three inter-related theses:
(1) The radical continuity of religion and philosophy.
(2) The view that philosophy renders in conceptual form the essence of what Christianity consists in and thus transcends the merely subjective vantage-point of faith.
(3) Philosophy alone shows Christianity to be rational and necessary.
Kierkegaard’s pseudonym, Johannes Climacus, attacks all three of these theses in Conculding Unscientific Postscript, and he introduces the category of the ‘absolute paradox’ (the Christian Incarnation) in order to do so. It is consequently a mistake to think, as Jon Stewart (2003) does, that Climacus has no quarrel with Hegel himself, but only with the Danish neo-Hegelians such as Heiberg and Martensen. For as the present paper will show, Climacus and Hegel in fact have diametrically opposed conceptions of Christianity and so could not fail to be at loggerheads with each other.
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Published date: December 2009
Keywords:
hegel, kierkegaard, absolute paradox, mediation, christianity, speculative philosophy, religion
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Local EPrints ID: 80103
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/80103
ISSN: 0263-5232
PURE UUID: 8cfdc6ba-e6b4-4c9e-b49e-e54b7d42674d
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Date deposited: 24 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 00:35
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