Kierkegaard on Dispassionate Rationality and the Existential Dialectics Cover Image

Kierkegaardas apie stokojantį aistros racionalumą ir egzistencinę dialektiką
Kierkegaard on Dispassionate Rationality and the Existential Dialectics

Author(s): Laimute Jakavonyte
Subject(s): Ethics / Practical Philosophy, 19th Century Philosophy, Existentialism, Philosophy of Religion
Published by: Visuomeninė organizacija »LOGOS«
Keywords: Kierkegaard; existence; dialectic; rationality; passion;

Summary/Abstract: The subject of this study is Kierkegaard's subjective existential dialectic and its opposition to the Hegelian dialectic. Passion and reason are chosen as categories that are effective tools for understanding the uniqueness of the subjective existential dialectic, which is revealed through the ambivalent relationship between rational passions and passionate reason. In the context of the existential stages of life, the aim is to show how the analysis of the dialectic of rational passions (reflecting the awakening spirit) and passionate reason (elevating the individual to spiritual heights) helps to deepen the understanding of tragic aestheticism, the radicalism of pure irony, the paradox of humour as a link between ethical and religious existence, and to clarify the concept of faith as the highest passion of reason. The passion of faith is the one that most contradicts the traditional criteria of rationality, but could it be an expression of existential wisdom rather than epistemic irrationality? The courage of faith, then, is the greatest risk chosen by a passionate reason to enter into relationship with the Absolute, and therefore the Abraham of Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling - the knight of passionate faith - cannot be surpassed. The aim of this article is to substantiate the hypothesis that the dialectic of rational passions and passionate reason in the existence of the individual leads to a better understanding of Kierkegaard's existential dialectic.

  • Issue Year: 2024
  • Issue No: 119
  • Page Range: 6-19
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Lithuanian
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