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Friday, March 12, 2021

Soren Kierkegaard's "Leap of Faith” by Vernon Cooper Philosophy Section 7

 Vernon Cooper 

Philosophy-Section 7

 

 

Soren Kierkegaard's "Leap of Faith

Kierkegaard arguably lived a short life being born in 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark and dying at the age of 42 in 1855. In his time he achieved many great feats in his profession as a philosopher and his faith as a Christian follower of god. He did quite a few things that were unique to life in his time that many had not already done. In his short life on earth he wrote a total of 22 books, he was named the “father of existialism” and was famously credited for the term “The Leap of Faith” even though he never used this term in any of his actual publications. Above all he felt that the ultimate life is that of a true Christian, and he spent much of his time striving towards that faith and philosophy as well. 

Although Soren was a Christian he hated the Christian church of Denmark. He thought that they did not practice what they preached and he resented them for it. This hurt Soren because he was so closely tied to his faith in Jesus it nearly felt like, through their actions, they were making a mockery of god himself. It is interesting to note that his life did draw questions for me. Like how could a person be a Christian of strong faith but also be named the father of exiastialsm? This is the question I believe he asked himself and hence birthed his philosophy. First the definition of an existialist is this. “A philosophical theory of approach in which emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of will”. This is important because his life was lead by two wings. Faith, and belief. Belief, to Soren, was something that is provable by fact and logic, by proof and evidence. Whereas faith was different. The very act of being faithful was to lack logic and proof of evidence to back your claim. 

He believed that to be A Christian and healthily follow your religion one would have to have faith and for faith in a god is none other than the lack of logic and evidence that one even exist. To be a Christian you have to have faith in the unexplainable. Based on his logic, Christians cannot be believers they can only follow in faith because to be a believer one would have assurance to understand god exists and have a way to somehow prove that existence to the world or themselves. His Philosophy focused more on the decision or the action of the “leap”.

In any case this would mean that the person in “the leap” is making a decision with improper lack of rationality and physical evidence to justify the action or decision they are making. Which makes the “leap” a faithful act. In order to be a Christian you have to take the leap to devote you life faithfully to something, by this logic, can never be believed. 

            Like much in his life he believed life was a broken into three branches. There was the aesthetic stage, the ethical stage, and the religious stage. The aesthetic stage idealizes the sense to feverishly attract and experience the beauty of pleasure that life has to offer. This would be anything that positively arouses the senses. Normally, Soren believed, this part of life took place in your early to late twenties when your still figuring life out and simply want to enjoy. The ethical stage of life normally comes in your thirties to early forties. This stage is what I call the eye opener stage one that helps a persona realize that the true beauty that we chase in early life is only the tip of the iceberg once you realize you can be impactful to others. That your life and everyone else’s are truly intertwined into one another like a series of different treads in the same fabric that we call life. Finally there is the third stage which is the religious stage. Upon realizing that this was something that was included in the stages of life for Soren my first impression, as a firm non believer in religion and unfaithful due to Soren’s logic, I was not immediately impressed by this. This is highly because I misinterpreted the initial meaning of this stage based on the title. This stage has almost nothing to do with actual religion but more to do with the advancement of self. One does not simply finish life in stage two. You have to take those lessons to develop and grow your character. Take you passions and let them drive you forward in life. Believe in something that others cannot see. Take that “Leap of Faith” into something you feel will develop the rest f your life. This is the stage that you finalize your purpose.

            In conclusion Soren was many things but in all he was genuine. He unapologetically carried his life in the direction of his truth. He commonly encouraged his readers to look inward and provided a lot of prospective that can help a person achieve great. He challenges the norm and encourages people to also go against the grain if that means that you would find your truth there. He embodies vigilance being that he believed so highly and strongly in the time that he came up in. Finally, he proves that in 42 short years if you devote your time and efforts to something you could truly have a impact on whatever that is for a long time. Work on your character and mold yourself into the best version of you so that you can find something that is higher than self. Then and only then will you reach the you that is meaningful.

 

 

 

 

Discussion Questions:

Can a skeptic have faith? 

Do you prefer to believe in the provable or have faith in the unknown?

Do you think that Sorens philosophy is ironic in the nature of his stance?

What stage of life are you in right now?

 

 

Sources:

https://youtu.be/XYHk_TieMLQ

By The Philosophical Research Society

https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/66395

Concluding unscientific postscript by Soren Kierkegaard

"A Little History of Philosophy" Nigel Warburton

 

Completion Log:

Question answered on Feb.4th

Question answered on Feb.9th

Question answered on Feb.11th

Question answered on Feb.16th

Question answered on Feb18th

Question answered on Feb 25th

Question answered on March 4th

Question answered on March 9th

Reply to questions on March 11th

Posted my Midterm summary under Questions March 11th

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