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The Sickness unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition of Edification & Awakening by Anti-Climacus (Penguin Classics)

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In perhaps his most relentless probing of the human condition, Kierkegaard's "The Sickness Unto Death" rediscovers the very notion of "sin." Having been tossed around by anyone and everyone in the Danish Christendom of his day, the word "sin" has lost much of it's original meaning; hence he chooses the term "despair." By doing this, Kierekgaard rediscovers "original sin," or that notion of sin which has been lost through misuse. For Kierkegaard, "despair" or "sin" is not simply an individual act, but it is a state of existence. Only when an individual acknowledges the inherent human situation, one that is "in despair," can one then "actively despair" and move out of the aesthetic mire of common existence. It should be noted that it is an ill advised version of Christianity which is "in despair," such a Christian wanting a simple solution without having to face the terrifying problem of our being. Kierkegaard not only documents the different levels of "despair" (no one type is exclusive of others), but he looks into why it is that we often refuse to accept our condition, such denial forcing us to remain "in despair." As he himself makes clear, "The very nature of despair is that it is unaware of being despair." There are endless implications from such an important work, not least of which is the idea that words can hold as well as lose their meaning, depending on how they are used and who is using them. But over and above a theory of semiotics is Kierkegaard's belief that authentic Christianity can only arise for the one who faces his/her desperate situation; and upon doing so, sees no other way out than total submission to "the Power that posited it."

Please indulge me only a brief autobiographical reflection on this singularly impressive work of the great Dane.

I was assigned this book in the spring of 1976 for a History of Modern Philosophy course at the University of Northern Colorado. Having cut my philosophical teeth on Nietzsche, Marx, and Freud, and being in the heady environment of the state university (albeit not a distingushed one), I had, in a protracted fit of post-adolescent pseudo-intellectualism, thrown of the light religion of my youth and was endeavoring to embrace atheism. Thank God, I would eventually fail in this.

I wrote a short essay against SK for my class, but had not taken on this formidable volume, relying only on secondary sources. But then one night, after a bizarre dream that covertyly indicated my alienation from God, I picked up the book and began reading--not at the beginning, but at a random place. Then the book began to read me. It explained my "despair" as form of rebellion against God. "Defiant despair" is what SK called it: despair that finds its meaning in being miserable in its rebellion against God. He called it the most "potentiated" (or full-bloodied) form of despair.

I saw myself in the dense and psychologically thick description. SK read my soul in Christian terms, and it disarmed and alarmed me. This marked a turning point; about a month later, I gave up this despair and instead embraced the Christian message. A few years later I taught through this demanding and rewarding book in a class at the University of Oregon--the only time I have done so in all my years of teaching.

I part company with SK's rejection of rational apologetics (natural theology and historical evidences for Christianity); however, his divination of the soul, his art of uncovering the soul's escape mechanisms, his ability to bring one before God through this writing...is uncanny. Call it subjective apologetics. Call it brilliant.

Herein lies many of Kierkegaard's most vehement attacks on his utter disgust as what he sees as the shallow and hypocritical Christians of his time. In fact, the rantings rank up there with Nietzsche's tirades against what he liked to call the "rabble."

As you may have guessed by the title, this is not to be an uplifting book. Kierkegaard will never be mistaken for Robert Schuller - that much is for certain. In it, the Danish philosopher (generally considered the father of existentialism) grapples with guilt. Not just anyone's guilt, either, but Soren Kierkegaard's guilt. In page after page he discerns how man's sinful nature is corruptive to his relationship to God. What is worse, no matter how hard he tries, he can't stop sinning any more than he can consciously stop breathing.

Kierkegaard then looks up from his desk and wonders why all those so-called Christians out there aren't doing the same thing that he is. The Dane is introspective, to say the least, and the nucleus of his thought emanates from Socrates' words at his trial, as recorded in Plato's APOLOGY:

...I say again that the greatest good of man is daily to converse about virtue, and all that concerning which you hear me examining myself and others, and that the life which is unexamined is not worth living
- Plato, APOLOGY, Trans: B Jowett

Here is a great man's attempt to follow the dictum of Socrates, and examine his own life. In this sense, THE SICKNESS UNTO DEATH is comparable to St. Augustine's CONFESSIONS, albeit a bit on the morbid side.

One of the Dane's favorite metaphors was of driver falling asleep at the reigns of his wagon. So too did K believe that that is how most of us live our lives. With this in mind, it is not surprising that he anoints this work as an "awakening" for his readers.

The Sickness Unto Death:
A Christian Psychological Exposition
for Edification and Awakening
by Anti-Climacus; 'edited' by S. Kierkegaard

Original Danish edition, 1849
Translated with an introduction and notes by Alastair Hannay
(London: UK: Penguin Books, 1989) 179 pages
(ISBN 0-14-044533-1; paperback)
(Library of Congress call number: BT715.K5313 1989)

This reviewer prefers this translation of The Sickness Unto Death,
not because it is necessarily the most accurate translation.
That designation perhaps belongs to Howard & Edna Hong,
The Sickness Unto Death
Kierkegaard's Writings, XIX, 201 pages
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1980) (ISBN: 0691072477).
But I find the Hannay translation easiest to read in English.
I need not say much here about this book
because one chapter of my own book on
Our Existential Predicament
is an interpretation of this book by Kierkegaard.
If you would like to see the first pages of this chapter,
search the Internet for the following exact title:
"Existential Splitting: Søren Kierkegaard's Sickness Unto Death".

The particular form of our Existential Malaise
dealt with in this book I call "existential splitting".
It could also be called "existential fragmentation".
Altho this is another very difficult book by SK,
it was one of the first to peer deeply into our Existential Dilemma.
It is a product of SK's mature thinking,
and therefore it should be read
by any serious student of existential spirituality.

If you are a serious searcher, here is your key to the Internet:
Search this exact expression: "Books on Existential Spirituality".

James Leonard Park, seeker on the path of existential spirituality.

The universal ethical truth, seeing others in their true light or darkness, and true faith, (not the modern version of faith) is what you will get from this read.

One will come away from this extraordinary book with a realization that there is a universal truth and that the only way to fully grasp it is to put oneself totally in Gods hands, and realize that it is he not we who are in control. This book will bring about inter contemplation and seeking which will strengthen ones ability to help find ones true self. In doing so it will help you shread any vestiage of the modern faith which is devoid of seeking truth.

If you want an affirmation of your true inter-self to surface then I highly recomend this book.

Kierkegaard does a wonderful job illustrating the connection between the mind and soul. Psychological problems are often spiritual problems today. This book does not seek simple problem-solving answers but addresses deep philosophical issues of what it is like to be human. A great read.

Kierkegaard never ceases to amaze. An exploration of despair in its various forms, and the opposite, faith.

This book is a must-read for everyone who claims to be Christian or have Christian values. It is a fascinating read for those who are agnostic or atheist as well, although I understand that a lot of atheists do not like to read it. If you are Christian, it will help you gain more insight and a more intellectual approach to your faith and applications for daily life/dealing with situations. If you are atheist, perhaps it can help you resolve some of your issues with religion or to help you see a more intellectual approach to religion other than the bible-verse screamers or other hard-core (and offensive) religious folk out there (just so you can get an understanding of people with religious/faith-based beliefs). I think there are lessons to be learned from it whether you are Christian or not. It gives information on how to live your life to the fullest regardless of what you believe, and will help you make more thoughtful, intelligent choices in the future.

which, in response to Kierkegaard's brilliance Allen succintly noted, "and I have trouble writing two sentences on My Trip to the Zoo."