Continuing on "The Present Age" (1846), plus Hubert Dreyfus’s "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004) with guest John Ganz. Does K's critique actually apply to our present age? We address K's view of humor, romance, authenticity, actual community vs. "the public," the leveling that occurs without anyone specific actually Continue Reading …
Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques the Present Age (Part One)
On Soren Kierkegaard's essay "The Present Age" (1846) and Hubert Dreyfus’s "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004). What's wrong with our society? Kierkegaard saw the advent of the press and gossip culture as engendering a systematic passivity and shallowness in his fellows, and Dreyfus thinks this is an even more apt Continue Reading …
Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques the Present Age (Citizen Edition)
On Soren Kierkegaard's essay "The Present Age" (1846) and Hubert Dreyfus’s "Nihilism on the Information Highway: Anonymity vs. Commitment in the Present Age" (2004). What's wrong with our society? Kierkegaard saw the advent of the press and gossip culture as engendering a systematic passivity and shallowness in his fellows, and Dreyfus thinks this is an even more apt Continue Reading …
Authentically Connect: An Author Interview with Dr. Gordon Marino
Kierkegaard instead of Prozac? That is the suggestion of Dr. Gordon Marino—leading Kierkegaard scholar, professional boxing coach, and author of The Existentialist's Survival Guide: How to Live Authentically in an Inauthentic Age (Harper Collins, 2018). Marino is no stranger to the wicked twists and pulls of anxiety and depression, and neither, he argues, were the Continue Reading …
October Not School Happenings
As usual, there's plenty happening with Not School this October, and it's not too late for you to sign up. It looks like two groups are carrying over September's readings, and another two will be starting a new books. At least a couple groups are still deciding whether to continue, so if you want to read something in their vein you probably still have time to jump in and Continue Reading …
Schleiermacher vs. Kierkegaard (at LibertarianChristians.com)
Clare Carlisle’s Spinoza Walk-Through (via The Guardian)
I just stumbled across an 8 part series on Spinoza (discussed by us here), completed today and begun here on 2/7/11, written by U. of Liverpool lecturer Clare Carlisle, who I see has written some books on Kierkegaard,which will give you some idea where she's coming from. I've not read the whole series, but it seems pretty clear and cogent, and will remind you (or fill you in Continue Reading …
The Sickness Unto Death, the PowerPoint!
I mentioned on the Kierkegaard episode having prepared a PowerPoint on The Sickness Unto Death, so I submit to you, the morbidly curious, TSUD: The PowerPoint! (Warning, it's over 700KB, and might take a while to download on slower connections.) I believe Seth made some minor corrections and improvements, but any errors in spelling, interpretation, or insight are mine. Feel Continue Reading …
Kierkegaard, Docudramatized
Kierkegaard's stern Christian vision originated with a strict, almost traumatic, upbringing. His defense of individualism and radical subjectivity would not likely have developed without it. But it's hard for the modern reader to get past Kierkegaard's freakish, introverted persona. A more sympathetic view of K. might be found in the 1984 BBC television series Sea of Faith, Continue Reading …
Louis CK on the story of Abraham
If you wanted some more detail on the story of Abraham as discussed by Kierkegaard in Fear and Trembling, here's a version by comedian Louis CK (yes, with swearing): Watch on youtube. This presentation shows the challenge Kierkegaard or any other Judeo-Christian apologist faces in defending a belief system that would make this story a central, celebrated piece of its Continue Reading …
Modern Science Searches for the Self
Below is a clip from David Malone's recent documentary, Soul Searching, originally broadcast on the UK's Channel 4. It reviews some of the latest developments in brain science to discover that the self might just be an illusion, a byproduct of the brain's left hemisphere trying to construct a narrative of reality. It makes for compelling viewing, and those uninterested in Continue Reading …
Fun with Kierkegaard – YouTube edition
During the podcast on Kierkegaard, Daniel made reference to a YouTube video featuring K. in a mock election ad. There were a couple of these that are quite amusing. Linkage for your reference: Another one after the bump... Continue Reading …
Kierkegaard and Cinema
You don’t have to be a self-absorbed mope to like Kierkegaard, but it can't hurt. Below is a stereotypically morose clip from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal (1957), which echoes themes presented in The Sickness Unto Death: Watch on youtube. The protagonist, Antonius Block, is a medieval knight suffering from what Kierkegaard might classify as conscious despair of Continue Reading …
What is Despair, Anyway?
[Editor's note: If you've listened to the Kierkegaard episode, then you've heard plenty of felicitous exposition and argumentation by Mr. Daniel Horne, whom we've consequently invited to post some follow-up thoughts and resources over the next weeks: Yes, we know Kierkegaard thought of despair as sin, but is despair “a” sin? Is it “sin” writ large? Despair is prohibited by Continue Reading …
Episode 29: Kierkegaard on the Self (Citizens Only)
Discussing Soren Kierkegaard's "The Sickness Unto Death" (1849). What is the self? For K. we are a tension between opposites: necessity and possibility, the finite and the infinite, soul and body. He thinks we're all in despair, whether we know it or not, because we wrongly think we're something we're not, or we reject what we are, or we just don't pay attention to this Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-Episode 29: Kierkegaard on the Self
This is a 32-minute preview of a 1 hr, 56-minute episode.Buy Now Purchase this episode for $2.99. Or become a PEL Citizen for $5 a month, and get access to this and all other paywalled episodes, including 68 back catalogue episodes; exclusive Part 2's for episodes published after September, 2020; and our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat Continue Reading …