Book contents
- Kierkegaard on Self, Ethics, and Religion
- Kierkegaard on Self, Ethics, and Religion
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Self, Despair, and Wholeheartedness
- Part II Morality, Prudence, and Religion
- Part III “Subjectivity, Inwardness, Is Truth”
- Part IV Faith and Reason
- Chapter 10 A Leap of Faith? The Use of Lessing, Jacobi, and Kant
- Chapter 11 Faith Neither Absurd Nor Irrational: The Neglected Reply to Eiríksson
- Chapter 12 Faith Beyond Reason: Suprarationalism and Antirationalism
- Chapter 13 The Ethics of Belief: Fideism and Pragmatism
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
Chapter 12 - Faith Beyond Reason: Suprarationalism and Antirationalism
from Part IV - Faith and Reason
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2022
- Kierkegaard on Self, Ethics, and Religion
- Kierkegaard on Self, Ethics, and Religion
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Self, Despair, and Wholeheartedness
- Part II Morality, Prudence, and Religion
- Part III “Subjectivity, Inwardness, Is Truth”
- Part IV Faith and Reason
- Chapter 10 A Leap of Faith? The Use of Lessing, Jacobi, and Kant
- Chapter 11 Faith Neither Absurd Nor Irrational: The Neglected Reply to Eiríksson
- Chapter 12 Faith Beyond Reason: Suprarationalism and Antirationalism
- Chapter 13 The Ethics of Belief: Fideism and Pragmatism
- Conclusion
- References
- Index
Summary
By discussing different interpretations, Chapter 12 shows that Kierkegaard is a suprarationalist, who takes faith to be above reason, not against it. Specifically, he is neither an irrationalist, who takes faith to be irrational, nor an antirationalist, who claims that faith and reason oppose each other, without any logical contradiction or irrationality. Indeed, for Kierkegaard, faith seems capable of overcoming the hostility and antagonism between faith and reason that antirationalism emphasizes. Still, Kierkegaard’s nonreligious pseudonyms do contrast faith and reason in order to counteract theological views that are overly rationalistic and scientific. Indeed, Kierkegaard goes as far as criticizing the Augustinian idea of faith seeking understanding. But instead of promoting blind faith, he attacks rationalist and intellectualist accounts of faith that do not do justice to the mysteries of divine revelation and the incarnation. He therefore maintains that faith cannot be reduced to conceptual understanding, although it must nevertheless both involve and seek practical understanding.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Kierkegaard on Self, Ethics, and ReligionPurity or Despair, pp. 212 - 235Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022