Sren Kierkegaard Research Centre

Faculty of Theology
University of Copenhagen

Jon Stewart
Associate Professor

Sren Kierkegaard: Subjectivity, Irony and the Crisis of Modernity

In this course we will explore how Kierkegaard deals with the problems associated with relativism, the
lack of meaning and the undermining of religious faith that are typical of modern life. His penetrating
analyses are still highly relevant today and have been seen as insightful for the leading figures of
Existentialism, Post-Structuralism and Post-Modernism.
The course begins October 6, 2014
Course Description:
It is often claimed that relativism, subjectivism and nihilism are typically modern philosophical
problems that emerge with the breakdown of traditional values, customs and ways of life. The result is
the absence of meaning, the lapse of religious faith, and feeling of alienation that is so widespread in
modernity. The Danish thinker Sren Kierkegaard (1813-55) gave one of the most penetrating analyses
of this complex phenomenon. But somewhat surprisingly he seeks insight into it not in any modern
thinker but rather in an ancient one, the Greek philosopher Socrates.
In his famous work The Concept of Irony Kierkegaard examines different forms of subjectivism and
relativism as they are conceived as criticisms of traditional culture. He characterizes these different
tendencies under the heading of irony. He realizes that once critical reflection has destroyed
traditional values, there is no way to go back. But yet the way forward is uncertain. As the modern
movements such as Existentialism, Post-Structuralism and Post-Modernism reveal, the issues that
Kierkegaard faced are still among the central problems of philosophy today.
Instructor:
Jon Stewart is Associate Professor at the Sren Kierkegaard Research Centre at the University of
Copenhagen. He is the author of several monographs, including The Unity of Hegels Phenomenology
of Spirit (Northwestern), Kierkegaards Relations to Hegel Reconsidered (Cambridge), Idealism and
Existentialism (Continuum), and The Unity of Content and Form in Philosophical Writing
(Bloomsbury). He has published several volumes of translations and has edited more than thirty
anthologies of secondary literature on Kierkegaard and European philosophy. He is editor-in-chief of
the series Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources (Ashgate), Texts from Golden Age
Denmark and Danish Golden Age Studies (Museum Tusculanum). He is the co-editor of the
Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook and the Kierkegaard Studies Monograph Series (Walter de Gruyter). He
is the president and founder of the International Kierkegaard Society and a member of the Royal
Danish Academy of Science.
See http://www.jonstewart.dk
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Stewart_(philosopher)

The Sren Kierkegaard Research Centre

http://www.skc.ku.dk
Get additional information about the course at
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sren-Kierkegaard-Subjectivity-Irony-and-the-Crisis-ofModernity/146191435583128
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SKCoursera
Google+: https://plus.google.com/104374033725568711937/posts
Grading Policy:

Seven of the eight end-of-week quizzes and the peer-assessed essays will count towards your
final grade.
Each quiz accounts for 10% and the essay accounting for 30%.
To earn a normal Statement of Accomplishment you will need a total score of 70%.
If you reach > 90% you will receive a Statement of Accomplishment with distinction.

Part 1: Kierkegaard on Socratic Irony

1.

Course Introduction: The Life and Work of Kierkegaard as a Socratic Task

October 6-12, 2014
Plato: The Euthyphro
Plato: The Apology

pp. 1-16
pp. 17-37

Recommended Secondary Literature

Muench: Apology: Kierkegaards Socratic Point of View pp. 3-25
2.

Kierkegaard, Martensen and Hegelianism at the University of Copenhagen

October 13-19, 2014
Hegel: The Socratic Method
Hegel: The Daimon
Hegel: The Fate of Socrates

Hist. of Phil., vol. 1, pp. 384-389, pp. 397-406

Hist. of Phil., vol. 1, pp. 421-425
Hist. of Phil., vol. 1, pp. 430-448

Supplemental Reading
Hegel: The Principle of the Good
Kierkegaard: Journal AA:12

Hist. of Phil., vol. 1, pp. 406-411

KJN, vol. 1, pp. 19-22

3.

Kierkegaards View of Socrates

October 20-26, 2014
Kierkegaard: The Daimon of Socrates
Kierkegaard: The Condemnation of Socrates

CI, pp. 157-167

CI, pp. 167-183, pp. 193-197

Supplemental Reading
Kierkegaard: The View Made Necessary
Kierkegaard: The Conflict between the Old
and the New Soap-Cellar, Journal DD:208

CI, pp. 198-214

KJN, vol. 1, pp. 278-289

Recommended Secondary Literature

Stewart: Chapter 3 in Kierkegaards
Relations to Hegel Reconsidered

pp. 132-181

Part 2: Kierkegaard on Romantic Irony

4.

Kierkegaard, Heiberg and History

October 27-November 2, 2014
Kierkegaard: The World-Historical Validity
of Irony, the Irony of Socrates
Supplemental Reading
Kierkegaard: Introduction
Kierkegaard: Hegels View of Socrates
Heiberg: On the Significance of Philosophy for
the Present Age

5.

CI, pp. 241-271

CI, pp. 9-12

CI, pp. 219-237
pp. 83-119

Kierkegaard, P.M. Mller and Friedrich von Schlegel

November 3-9, 2014
Kierkegaard: Irony After Fichte: Fichte
Kierkegaard: Irony After Fichte: Schlegel
Kierkegaard: Irony as a Controlled Element,
the Truth of Irony

CI, pp. 272-286

CI, pp. 286-301
CI, pp. 324-329

Supplemental Reading
Hegel: Fichte
Hist. of Phil., vol. 3, pp. 479-506
Hegel: The More Important Followers of Fichte Hist. of Phil., vol. 3, pp. 506-508

Part 3: Kierkegaards Socratic Task

6.

The Conception of Kierkegaards Socratic Task: 1843

The Trip to Berlin and the Beginning of the Authorship
November 10-16, 2014
Kierkegaard: Diapsalmata
Kierkegaard: Problema I

EO1, pp. 17-43

FT, pp. 54-67

Supplemental Reading
Martensen: Rationalism, Supernaturalism
Kierkegaard: A Word of Thanks to Professor
Heiberg

pp. 127-143
COR, pp. 17-21

Recommended Secondary Literature

Soderquist: Chapter 7 in The Isolated Self
7.

Kierkegaards Socratic Task: 1844-45

The Development of the Pseudonymous Works
November 17-23, 2014
Kierkegaard: The Absolute Paradox
Kierkegaard: The Concept of Anxiety
Kierkegaard: Preface VIII
Kierkegaard: Stages on Lifes Way
Kierkegaard: Becoming Subjective
Kierkegaard: The Issue in Fragments

8.

pp. 201-230

PF, pp. 37-48

CA, p. 3, p. 5, p. 16, pp. 134-135
P, pp. 159-170
SLW, pp. 481-485
CUP, pp. 184-188
CUP, pp. 381-384

Kierkegaards Socratic Task: 1846-55

The Second Half of the Authorship and the Attack on the Church
November 24-December 1, 2014
Kierkegaard: The Point of View
Kierkegaard: The Socratic Definition of Sin
Kierkegaard: The God-Man is a Sign
Kierkegaard: Was Bishop Mynster a Truth
Witness
Kierkegaard: The Moment, no. 10

PV, p. 24, pp. 54-55, pp. 68-69

SUD, pp. 90-100
PC, pp. 9-10, pp. 81-83, pp. 124-127
M, pp. 3-8
M, pp. 340-347

Texts:
Plato: The Euthyphro, in Socrates of Athens, trans. by Cathal Woods and Ryan Pack.
(Available at http://books.google.dk/books?id=v53iDJDi_M0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Plato: Socrates Defense (The Apology), in Socrates of Athens, trans. by Cathal Woods and Ryan Pack.
(Available at http://books.google.dk/books?id=v53iDJDi_M0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Hegel: Hist. of Phil. = Lectures on the History of Philosophy, vols. 1-3, trans. by E.S. Haldane,
London: K. Paul, Trench, Trbner 1892-96.
(Vol. 1 available at http://archive.org/details/lecturesonhisto00hegegoog)
(Vol. 3 available at http://archive.org/details/lectureshistoryp03hegeuoft)
Heiberg: On the Significance of Philosophy for the Present Age in Heibergs On the Significance of
Philosophy for the Present Age and Other Texts, ed. and trans. by Jon Stewart, Copenhagen:
C.A. Reitzel 2005 (Texts from Golden Age Denmark, vol. 1), pp. 83-119.
(Available courtesy of Museum Tusculanum Press:
see http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=203519)
Kierkegaard: CA = The Concept of Anxiety, trans. by Reidar Thomte in collaboration with Albert B.
Anderson, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1980.
Kierkegaard: CI = The Concept of Irony, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton:
Princeton University Press 1989.
Kierkegaard: COR = The Corsair Affair; Articles Related to the Writings, trans. by Howard V. Hong
and Edna H. Hong, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1982.
Kierkegaard: CUP = Concluding Unscientific Postscript, vols. 1-2, trans. by Howard V. Hong and
Edna H. Hong, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1992, vol. 1.
Kierkegaard: EO1 = Either/Or 1, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton: Princeton
University Press 1987.
Kierkegaard: FT = Fear and Trembling, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton:
Princeton University Press 1983.
Kierkegaard: KJN = Kierkegaards Journals and Notebooks, vols. 1-11, ed. by Niels Jrgen Cappelrn
et al., Princeton: Princeton University Press 2007-.
Kierkegaard: M = The Moment and Late Writings, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong,
Princeton: Princeton University Press 1998.
Kierkegaard: P = Preface VIII in Heibergs Perseus and Other Texts, ed. and trans. by Jon Stewart,
Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press 2011 (Texts from Golden Age Denmark, vol. 6), pp.
157-180.
(Available courtesy of Museum Tusculanum Press:
see http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=203519)
Kierkegaard: PC = Practice in Christianity, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton:
Princeton University Press 1991.
Kierkegaard: PF = Philosophical Fragments; Johannes Climacus, or De omnibus dubitandum est,
trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton: Princeton University Press 1985.
Kierkegaard: PV = The Point of View, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton:
Princeton University Press 1998.
Kierkegaard: SLW = Stages on Lifes Way, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton:
Princeton University Press 1988.

Kierkegaard: SUD = The Sickness unto Death, trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong,
Princeton: Princeton University Press 1980.
Martensen: Rationalism, Supernaturalism and the principium exclusi medii, in Mynsters
Rationalism, Supernaturalism and the Debate about Mediation, ed. and trans. by Jon
Stewart, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press 2009 (Texts from Golden Age Denmark,
vol. 5), pp. 127-143.
(Available courtesy of Museum Tusculanum Press:
see http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=203519)
Recommended Secondary Literature:
Muench, Paul, Apology: Kierkegaards Socratic Point of View, in Kierkegaard and the Greek World,
Tome I, Socrates and Plato, ed. by Jon Stewart and Katalin Nun, Aldershot: Ashgate 2010
(Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources, vol. 2), pp. 3-25.
(Available courtesy of Ashgate Publishing:
see http://www.ashgate.com/Default.aspx?page=1657)
Soderquist, K. Brian, Chapter 7 in The Isolated Self: Truth and Untruth in Sren Kierkegaards On
the Concept of Irony, Copenhagen: C.A. Reitzel 2007 (Danish Golden Age Studies, vol. 1), pp.
201-230.
(Available courtesy of Museum Tusculanum Press:
see http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=203519)
Stewart, Jon, Kierkegaards Relations to Hegel Reconsidered, New York: Cambridge University Press
2003, Chapter 3, pp. 132-181.
(Permission courtesy of Cambridge University Press: see
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1117327/?site_locale=en_GB)
Supplemental Reading: Anthologies:
Howland, Jacob, Kierkegaard and Socrates: A Study in Philosophy and Faith, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press 2006.
Kierkegaard and the Greek World, Tome I, Socrates and Plato, ed. by Jon Stewart and Katalin Nun,
Aldershot: Ashgate 2010 (Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources, vol. 2).
Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook, 2009, Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter 2009 (special issue on
The Concept of Irony).
The Concept of Irony, ed. by Robert L. Perkins, Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press 2001
(International Kierkegaard Commentary, vol. 2).
On-line Resources:
PBS documentary: The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/thegreeks/moovs/10_300.html
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/greeks-crucible-civilization/
On-line resources about Kierkegaard:
Kierkegaard from The Sea of Faith

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmYVl4sgYr4
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQlhRaXO110&feature=related
Useful series about Kierkegaard:
Kierkegaard Research: Sources, Reception and Resources
http://www.jonstewart.dk/krsrr.htm
Texts from Golden Age Denmark
http://www.jonstewart.dk/goldenagetexts.htm
Danish Golden Age Studies
http://www.jonstewart.dk/goldenagestudies.htm
Kierkegaard Studies Yearbook
http://www.degruyter.com/view/serial/16032?rskey=wEyPLM&result=2&q=kierkegaard%20studies%
20yearbook
Coursera Team:
Course Administrator:
Timothy Hall [hallt@franklinacademy.org]
Administrative Assistants:
Katalin Nun
K. Brian Soderquist
Bjarne Still Laurberg
Teaching Assistants:
Joseph Ballan [skcballanj2013@gmail.com]
Hjrdis Becker-Lindenthal [skcbeckerh2013@gmail.com]
Matthew Brake [skcbrakem2013@gmail.com]
Victoria Davies [victoria.davies@sjc.ox.ac.uk]
Joaquim Hernandez-Dispaux [j.hernandezdispaux@gmail.com]
Jennifer Hincapi Snchez [skchincapiej2013@gmail.com]
Luke Johnson [skcjohnsonl@gmail.com]
Wojciech Kaftanski [skckaftanskiw2013@gmail.com]
Irina Kruchinina [krucha@uga.edu]
Laura Liva [laura.liva@gmail.com]
Cody Lewis Oaks [skcoaksc2013@gmail.com]
Azucena Palavicini Snchez [skcpalavicinia2013@gmail.com.]
George Patios [georgiospatios@yahoo.co.uk]
Humberto Quaglio [hquaglio@terra.com.br]

Troy Smith [skcsmitht2013@gmail.com]

Emma Srgaard [esoergaard@hotmail.com]
Tianwang Jinjian 307738520@qq.com
Michael Stark stark.michael.d@gmail.com
Katarzyna Krawerenda-Wajda katarzynakrawerenda@gmail.com
Shalon Amber [shalon.amber@gmail.com]