Søren Kierkegaard's 'The Concept of Anxiety' (Part 1/2)

In this episode, I present the first half of Søren Kierkegaard's "The Concept of Anxiety," which, when coupled with "Sickness Unto Death" that I will present in a couple of weeks, presents a good introduction to Kierkegaard's existential philosophy.

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Image cred: Royal Danish Library

[thyself]

Thanks for this thorough explanation of Kierkegaards work. I was able to sort of understand the book but not in a way where I could speak in concise language about it. I think it’s important to recognize the Kierkegaard was opposed to the church and the mainstream dogma of Christianity. He felt the true religious life was something very personal and subjective, and he makes that very clear throughout his works. I am no Christian but Kierkegaards interpretation of Christianity is profound and there is incredible wisdom in it even for those who are atheists.

[gotterdammerung]

This is great work, man! You've earned a donation. People should support creators like you who are putting in serious effort to bring these thinkers to wider audiences.

[a.leunghkg]

Man you really make kierkegaard easy for me! i am a total outsider to philosophy and i m glad to find your podcasts to help me do my learnings in my leisure

[rotsuzen]

Thank you very much, i think you put it in a nice way. Kierkegaard is not easy to read, i have tried and failed to grasp the line within the text and your comments help a lot. thanks

[michaelkalish]

Awesome podcast. Thank you for posting! Just one thought on your characterization of the qualitative leap:
At 19:15, you describe the qualitative leap as the "leap of faith", that Adam was in sin prior to committing his first sin. In section 6 of Chapter I, Kierkegaard writes: "...Sinfulness moves in quantitative terms, while sin constantly enters through the individual's qualitative leap." It strikes me that the qualitative leap is the underlying potential of possibility characterized by anxiety ("...freedom's actuality as the possibility of possibility" Ch. I, sec. 5). In contrast, faith (or the "leap of faith") is the "courage to believe that the state itself is a new sin, courage without anxiety to renounced anxiety..." (Ch. IV, Sec. 1). In other words, the leap of faith has a relation to sin and the qualitative leap that makes sin possible, but is not itself the qualitative leap. Curious to hear your thoughts!

[mindlifechannel]

Excellent summation David, truly agree Kierkegaard's avenue to existentialism is through religious faith. I also though, when looking at this deeply can draw many parallels with this to everyday living, which in essence what Philosophy is for me and what I share to others who seek answers in life. Appreciate your work and will keep in touch. JZ (John)

[Pragmatta]

Tx a lot from Brasil. This explanation helped very mych more than several others in my own language.

[larkhallman]

Listen to you was great . My first time knowing about Kierkegaard …. Thank you

[lostintime]

Weird how I started thinking about Kierkegaard after trying to understand Kant's 1st critique just yesterday. And now your post.

[rihemmiya]

the definition you gave of anxiety "the self awarness of the finite as finite" and the distinction between anxiety/fear is actually given by paul Tillich in his work "the courage to be" which is actually quite similar to Kierkegaard's work here... for Tillich the courage to be is grounded on the god above god when god disappears in the anxiety of doubt

[watchfuleagleson]

No no no! Slow down! Back it up to about 14:25 where the editors got it right: "Nothingness is not an object." It is NOT a feeling or a thought. It is inherent. Kierkegaard taught that we ARE anxiety, even if we're having a great day without a care in the world.

[eggnog]

Thank you! Was planning to read some of Kierkegaard's works but thought I needed to have an idea or a background about him. This was really helpful. :>

[peterdejounge]

Really really nice with this content! Super grateful for your work!!

[TheMinisterofDefence]

i couldn't agree with you more, regarding Kierkegaard being used outside of his Christian context. The greatest irony in dealing with the Danish ironist, is the fact that so many so called experts in Kierkegaard totally miss the point of his writing.

[tamarackroadproductions]

How can you say Adam was pure? To what relation? Before Adam or after Adam?

[RickDelmonico]

Meaning lives in the Goldilocks zone between the harmonic regularity of truth and the chaotic dynamics of self referential noise.

[lcfdasoares]

thanks for the summary! i feel i got enough from the text and don’t need to dive deeper.

[hanskung]

Jesus! This is EXCRUCIATING convoluted! How does this help anyone?

[davidpeterdrape]

Hi, great presentation on The concept of Anxiety on Kierkegaard. I was wondering if you could possibly make clearer for me the condition of Adam prior to making the decision to eat from the tree of good and evil. Are you, or more specifically Kierkegaard, suggesting that Adam was already in a state of sin prior to the actual fall? If this is the suggestion then how does this fit into the broader context of Adam being created by God in God's image. I would also appreciate some clarity on what Kierkegaard means by quantitative and qualitative actions regarding the original sin. I have been grappling with some of the works of Kierkegaard and slowly his philosophy is gaining traction, However, as you rightly say some commentators leave one further frustrated and don't always give clear and accurate explanations. Many thanks. Dave Drape. England Uk.PS. do you have an email address?

[tamarackroadproductions]

Sin expanded the universe? or compressed it? or both through a division?