The Philosophy of Kierkegaard (Continental European Philosophy) - Softcover

Pattison, George

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844650316 ISBN 13: 9781844650316

Publisher: Routledge, 2005

Synopsis

Although the ideas of Soren Kierkegaard played a pivotal role in the shaping of mainstream German philosophy and the history of French existentialism, the question of how philosophers should read Kierkegaard is a difficult one to settle. His intransigent religiosity has led some philosophers to view him as essentially a religious thinker of a singularly anti-philosophical attitude who should be left to the theologians. In this major new survey of Kierkegaard's thought, George Pattison addresses this question head on and shows that although it would be difficult to claim a philosophy of Kierkegaard as one could a philosophy of Kant, or of Hegel, there are nevertheless significant points of common interest between Kierkegaard's central thinking and the questions that concern philosophers today. The challenge of self-knowledge in an age of moral and intellectual uncertainty that lies at the heart of Kierkegaard's writings remains as important today as it did in the culture of post-Enlightenment modernity.

About this title

About the Author

George Pattison is Lady Margaret Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford.

Review

"Pattison achieves an expert clarity in introducing core questions confronting any potential philosophy of Kierkegaard. Not only is it sufficiently accessible for the uninitiated, it also importantly offers novel insights and questions for the possible relation of Kierkegaard's religious thought to the contemporary discipline of philosophy." - Religious Studies "This excellent book offers a wide-ranging overview of Kierkegaard's thought. The way in which the topics are handled is expert, and the way in which some of the themes are connected is genuinely original, all of which shows Pattison's firm mastery of the Kierkegaard corpus." - John Lippitt, University of Hertfordshire "A wonderfully readable book. Pattison asks a great question: if one doesn't accept Kierkegaard's religious conclusions does the whole structure of the anthropology become irrelevant? That question is something that all Kierkegaard scholars could benefit from considering." M. Jamie Ferreira, University of Virginia

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1844650316
• ISBN 13: 9781844650316
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224