Concluding Unscientific Postscript 2 : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 12.2 [Paperback]

Søren Kierkegaard (Author), Howard V. Hong (Translator), Edna H. Hong (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691020825 | ISBN-13: 978-0691020822 | Publication Date: June 15, 1992

In Philosophical Fragments the pseudonymous author Johannes Climacus explored the question: What is required in order to go beyond Socratic recollection of eternal ideas already possessed by the learner? Written as an afterword to this work, Concluding Unscientific Postscript is on one level a philosophical jest, yet on another it is Climacus's characterization of the subjective thinker's relation to the truth of Christianity. At once ironic, humorous, and polemical, this work takes on the "unscientific" form of a mimical-pathetical-dialectical compilation of ideas. Whereas the movement in the earlier pseudonymous writings is away from the aesthetic, the movement in Postscript is away from speculative thought. Kierkegaard intended Postscript to be his concluding work as an author. The subsequent "second authorship" after The Corsair Affair made Postscript the turning point in the entire authorship. Part One of the text volume examines the truth of Christianity as an objective issue, Part Two the subjective issue of what is involved for the individual in becoming a Christian, and the volume ends with an addendum in which Kierkegaard acknowledges and explains his relation to the pseudonymous authors and their writings. The second volume contains the scholarly apparatus, including a key to references and selected entries from Kierkegaard's journals and papers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The definitive edition of the Writings. The first volume . . . indicates the scholarly value of the entire series: an introduction setting the work in the context of Kierkegaard's development; a remarkably clear translation; and concluding sections of intelligent notes. -- Library Journal

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (June 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691020825
• ISBN-13: 978-0691020822
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comic tour de force, February 1, 2000

By 

J. C. Woods "silvannus" (Malden, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Concluding Unscientific Postscript 2 : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 12.2 (Paperback)

To begin with, the title is a joke. This is the in keeping with the putative author of the piece. Johannes Climacus (who is named for the Seventh Century Hermit and Monk, St. John Climacus) is a humorist. A humorist, as he will point out, is someone on edge of becoming religious, but is not yet religious and, in fact, may never become religious. That being said, back to the title. "Concluding," as is obvious, implies that SK intended this to be his last book (in a separate declaration published with the book he acknowledges all the previous pseudonyms with the proviso that no one should quote him directly unless it is from a book that bears his name as author and claims that he has no privileged access to the pseudonyms than any other reader). However, as the result of a religious conversion after it's publication, it became the middle child of his authorship, recapitulating all that had come before and pointing forward toward new things yet to be imagined. "Unscientific" is a dig at Hegel. If one wishes to over-simplify one may say that SK's position is Either/Or: Either there is a God and the world actually means something, Or there is no God and the world is absurd, meaningless and accidental. Hegel abolished God and attempted to find meaning in historical process. This is the "science" for which SK has such contempt. For this reason, SK refuses to call himself a philosopher, content to call himself a "poet." If a fraud like Hegel is a philosopher, then he wants no part of the designation. "Postscript" is where the joke comes in. This book is a "Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments." The "Philosophical Fragments" is, therefore, a 100 page book with a 600 page postscript attached (that's the joke ha ha) Of all of SK's books this is my favorite. It is his funniest and either you keep your eye carefully peeled or you will miss a joke (the first time you read it you will miss hundreds of them). And in typical SK fashion the more he jokes the more deadly serious he is (by the end he is claiming the book, in its entirety, is a joke). The central distinction is between our ideas about things and the things themselves. If you have any trouble, there is always Merold Westphal's "Becoming a Self," a good commentary. The only problem is that he probably takes SK more seriously than SK would be comfortable with. That's not necessarily a good thing. You lose too many good jokes in the process.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite work in philosophy, March 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Kierkegaard's Writings (Paperback)

More of an endorsement than a review. No book has had as much impact on my life as has this one, unless it is Kierkegaard's THE SICKNESS UNTO DEATH. I have probably read this all the way through at least five times, and plan on reading it several times again. The greatest praise I can bestow on this volume is that it is supremely practical. Unlike most philosophy since Kierkegaard's day, this is a book that can actually effect the way one lives one's life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Supplement to vol. 1, August 1, 2009

By 

James Rovira "JR" (Columbus, OH, US) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Concluding Unscientific Postscript 2 : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 12.2 (Paperback)

Kierkegaard's text of Concluding Unscientific Postscript is vol. 1 of this edition. Volume 2 contains the translators' and editors' extensive notes, excerpts from Kierkegaard's journals relevant to the main text of CUP, and bibliographic and indexing material. If all you're interested in is the main text, purchase vol. 1 only. However, this is a difficult text and the notes are detailed and very useful. I highly recommend reading it.