Kierkegaard On Descartes: Doubt as a Prefiguration of Existential Despair
Kierkegaard On Descartes: Doubt as a Prefiguration of Existential Despair
Author(s): Tomasz KupśSubject(s): Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions, 19th Century Philosophy, Existentialism
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: Søren Kierkegaard; Descartes; doubt; despair; rationalism; scepticism; infinite resignation
Summary/Abstract: In his early, unfinished essay entitled Johannes Climacus, or De omnibus dubitandum est, Søren Kierkegaard enters into a polemic with Hegel’s interpretation of the methodic Cartesian doubt. Kierkegaard questions the philosophical absolutism of Cartesian scepticism and his methodological universalism. For the first time in Kierkegaard’s writings, the sphere of speculation (thinking) is confronted with personal involvement (will). Kierkegaard never published this work (it came out posthumously), and did not make any direct reference to Descartes in the same form ever again. However, certain subjects and themes remained: doubt (contrasted with despair) and the alias (Johannes Climacus), used when writing that early essay.
Journal: Roczniki Filozoficzne
- Issue Year: 70/2022
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 23-34
- Page Count: 12
- Language: English