Kierkegaard's Descriptive Philosophy of Religion: The Imagination Poised between Possibility and Actuality

Rethinking the powers of the imagination, Søren Kierkegaard both anticipates and challenges contemporary approaches to a descriptive philosophy of religion. In contrast to the reigning approaches to religion in his day, Kierkegaard reconceives philosophy as, first of all, descriptive of human, inclu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhilosophies (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 3; p. 84
Main Author Gouwens, David J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2024
Subjects
Christianity
Descriptive research
Ethics
Imagination
Imagination (Philosophy)
Kierkegaard, Soren
Kierkegaard, Søren
Philosophy
Philosophy and religion
philosophy of religion
poetics, religious
Possibility
possibility and actuality
Religion
Religious aspects
spiritual exercises
Theologians
Theology
Denmark
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Summary:Rethinking the powers of the imagination, Søren Kierkegaard both anticipates and challenges contemporary approaches to a descriptive philosophy of religion. In contrast to the reigning approaches to religion in his day, Kierkegaard reconceives philosophy as, first of all, descriptive of human, including specifically ethical and religious, existence. To this end, he develops conceptual tools, including a descriptive ontology of human existence, a “pluralist epistemology” exploring both cognitive and passional dimensions of religion, and a role for the poetic in philosophy, strikingly expressed in his observer figures who “imaginatively construct” “thought projects” to explore human existence. While this new descriptive account anticipates subsequent approaches to the philosophy of religion, it could be interpreted as another “objectivist” endeavor, yet Kierkegaard attempts more in this descriptive philosophy. He imaginatively deploys conceptual and rhetorical strategies maieutically to both describe and elicit self-reflection aimed at transformation, thus expanding the imagination’s uses for his readers. Comparing Kierkegaard to Pierre Hadot’s recovery of ancient Greek philosophy as “a way of life” will show how Kierkegaard also engages the particularity of “the Christian principle”, with implications for how philosophy can both describe and elicit the pathos of other religious traditions as well.
ISSN:2409-9287
2409-9287
DOI:10.3390/philosophies9030084