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Understanding Kierkegaard dialectics

Criticism of how Kierkegaard divorces himself from his own dialectic method by his necessitating leaps of faith, leading to a contridiction in his philosophical ideals.

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Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death Part II is about sin, what sin is, how it develops, different kinds of sin, varying degrees of severity, etc. Unfortunately, this concept of sin and the related escape from despair through god are logical "leaps of faith" in Kierkegaard's philosophy which totally defy his emphasis upon dialectics.

The discussion in part I on despair and the causes and results of this despair is a fairly scientific description of observable phenomenon in the human psyche. The dialectical method of examination of despair and the dialectical thought processes of the human brain, especially as emphasized in the brain's conception and manipulation of despair, parallel each other well, leading to a tight argument.

Part II totally disregards this redeeming quality of the work. While speculative philosophy is largely groundless musings, even as observed by Kierkegaard himself, the method of dialectical observation/argument instills a marginal utility to this philosophical work. In other words, the discussion on despair is not simply random musings of a "philosopher," but an intelligent and grounded investigation into human psychology. On the other hand, part II enters back into the realm of random musings -- here we have Kierkegaard's personal views on sin and Christianity.

The fact that Kierkegaard's analysis is random musing and not dialectics is reinforced by the recurrence of old ambiguities as seen in Augustine: free will versus necessity. How can free will exist under the auspices of an omnipotent god? Kierkegaard largely ignores this question simply asserting that a human being is a synthesis of possibility ("free will") and necessity. He never considers the relationship of god to such a phenomenon -- in fact he cannot consider the relationship of god to such a phenomenon because it is a contradiction.



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