Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Four for Supporters/Closereads Part Two)

Continuing from the previous installment, Mark and Wes conclude our read-through of the final section of The Concept of Irony, "Irony as a Controlled Element, the Truth of Irony." How can a controlled level of irony help us gain health and truth? Read along with us, starting at PDF p. 324 in the middle. Closereads supporters (see patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy) can  Continue Reading …

Ep. 330: Kierkegaard’s “Either/Or”: The Aesthetic Life (Part One)

Subscribe to get parts 1 and 2 of this now, ad-free, plus tons of bonus content. On the aphorisms ("Diapsalmata") that begin Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or (1843), plus the essay also in the first volume, "Rotation of Crops." What is it to live your life as if it were a work of art? One might think (after having read the Romantics or Nietzsche) that this is the only honest  Continue Reading …

Ep. 330: Kierkegaard’s “Either/Or”: The Aesthetic Life (Part Two for Supporters)

Continuing from part one on "Diapsalmata" and "Rotation of Crops" from the "Either" portion of Kierkegaard's pseudonymous book ("either" being the aesthetic and "or" being the ethical, which we'll cover in ep. 331). We get a bit personal about this; to what extent is Seth criticizing our younger selves? (Here's a song Mark wrote in 1990 in this vein.) We talk through more  Continue Reading …

Ep. 330: Kierkegaard’s “Either/Or”: The Aesthetic Life (Part One for Supporters)

On the aphorisms ("Diapsalmata") that begin Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or (1843), plus the essay also in the first volume, "Rotation of Crops." What is it to live your life as if it were a work of art? One might think (after having read the Romantics or Nietzsche) that this is the only honest way to live, that anything else (e.g. identifying yourself with a particular religion  Continue Reading …

Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Three/Closereads Part One)

Sign up for Closereads at patreon.com/closereadsphilosophy to get previous and future installments of this new podcast, including (soon) an additional part to this discussion.Subscribe to PEL to get other part 3's to PEL episodes, plus tons of other bonus recordings, and all of your PEL episodes ad-free. Mark and Wes Closeread the conclusion to Soren Kierkegaard's On the  Continue Reading …

Ep. 329: Kierkegaard on Irony (Part Three for Supporters/Closereads Part One)

Mark and Wes Closeread the conclusion to Soren Kierkegaard's On the Concept of Irony (1841), "Irony as a Controlled Element, the Truth of Irony." The discussion starts with the role of irony in good art, and then moves on to discuss the proper role of irony as an existential strategy in a well-grounded, thoughtful life. Read along with us, starting at PDF p. 321. You can  Continue Reading …

Ep. 224: Kierkegaard Critiques the Present Age (Part Two)

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …