Kierkegaard S Upbuilding Discourses

Upbuilding or edification, is the central theme of Soren Kierkegaard's authorship: only the truth that builds up is truth for you (E02:354). Somewhere along the way, Soren Kierkegaard developed a plan to publish some upbuilding discourses to 'accompany his pseudonymous works. These Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses are the focus of the edifying commentaries in this volume.

"Just as Howard V. and Edna H. Hong's translation of Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits marked the first appearance of this complete title in English in a single volume, this collection of essays is the first to explore the fascinating and powerful compilation of Kierkegaard's writings that clearly initiate the "second authorship.""--BOOK JACKET.

In his praise for Part I of Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits, the eminent Kierkegaard scholar Eduard Geismar said, "I am of the opinion that nothing of what he has written is to such a degree before the face of God. Anyone who really wants to understand Kierkegaard does well to begin with it." These discourses, composed after Kierkegaard had initially intended to end his public writing career, constitute the first work of his "second authorship." Characterized by Kierkegaard as ethical-ironic, Part One, "Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing," offers a penetrating discussion of double-mindedness and ethical integrity. Part Two, "What We Learn from the Lilies in the Field and from the Birds of the Air," humorously exposes an inverted qualitative difference between the learner and the teacher. In Part Three, "The Gospel of Sufferings, Christian Discourses," the philosopher explores how joy can come out of suffering.

George Pattison provides a reassessment of Kierkegaard's Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses and our reading of his work as a whole.

There is much to be learned philosophically from this volume, but philosophical instruction was not Kierkegaard's aim here, except in the broad sense of self-knowledge and deepened awareness. Indicating the intention of the discourses, the titles include "The Expectancy of Faith," "Love Will Hide a Multitude of Sins," "Strengthening in the Inner Being," "To Gain One's Soul in Patience," "Patience in Expectancy," and "Against Cowardliness." In tone and substance these works are in accord with the concluding words of encouragement in Either/Or, which was paired with the first volume of discourses: "Ask yourself and keep on asking until you find the answer, for one may have known something many times, acknowledged it; one may have willed something many times, attempted it--and yet, only the deep inner motion, only the heart's indescribable emotion, only that will convince you that what you have acknowledged belongs to you, that no power can take it from you--for only the truth that builds up is truth for you."

Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions was the last of seven works signed by Kierkegaard and published simultaneously with an anonymously authored companion piece. Imagined Occasions both complements and stands in contrast to Kierkegaard's pseudonymously published Stages on Life's Way. The two volumes not only have a chronological relation but treat some of the same distinct themes. The first of the three discourses, "On the Occasion of a Confession," centers on stillness, wonder, and one's search for God--in contrast to the speechmaking on erotic love in "In Vino Veritas," part one of Stages. The second discourse, "On the Occasion of a Wedding," complements the second part of Stages, in which Judge William delivers a panegyric on marriage. The third discourse, "At a Graveside," sharpens the ethical and religious earnestness implicit in Stages's "'Guilty'/'Not Guilty'" and completes this collection.

"In his praise for Part I of Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits, the eminent Kierkegaard scholar Eduard Geismar said, "I am of the opinion that nothing of what he has written is to such a degree before the face of God. Anyone who really wants to understand Kierkegaard does well to begin with it." These discourses, composed after Kierkegaard had initially intended to end his public writing career, constitute the first work of his "second authorship."" "Characterized by Kierkegaard as ethical-ironic, Part One, on the theme of "Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing," offers a penetrating discussion of double-mindedness and ethical integrity; the irony lies in the relation between factuality and ideality. Part Two, "What We Learn from the Lilies in the Field and from the Birds of the Air," is humorous for Kierkegaard in that it exposes an inverted qualitative difference between the learner and the teacher. In Part Three, "The Gospel of Sufferings, Christian Discourses," the philosopher explores the theme of joy, as in "The Joy of It That the School of Sufferings Educates for Eternity."" --Book Jacket.