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The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition For Upbuilding And Awakening (Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 19) (v. 19) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Howard V. Hong (Editor), Edna H. Hong (Editor)

4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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The Concept of Anxiety : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 8 by Soren Kierkegaard
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Fear and Trembling/Repetition : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol. 6 by Soren Kierkegaard
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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 )

Language Notes

Text: English, Danish (translation) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

Paperback: 201 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 1, 1983)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0691020280
ISBN-13: 978-0691020280
Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #61,064 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
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Howard Vincent Hong

Edna Hatlestad Hong

Soren Kierkegaard

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover

Citations (learn more)

100 books cite this book:

Kierkegaard's Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations by C. Stephen Evans on 15 pages
Kierkegaard: A Critical Reader (Blackwell Critical Reader) by Jonathan R�e on 14 pages
Sweet Violence: The Idea of the Tragic by Terry Eagleton on 6 pages
Works of Love by Soren Kierkegaard on 6 pages
Routledge Philosophy GuideBook to Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling (Routledge Philosophyguidebooks) by John Lippitt on 6 pages

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	82% buy the item featured on this page: The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition For Upbuilding And Awakening (Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 19) (v. 19) 4.9 out of 5 stars (16) $11.20
	6% buy Sickness unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition of Edification & Awakening by Anti-Cli (Penguin Classics) 5.0 out of 5 stars (6) $10.20
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

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4.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

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72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, April 6, 2003

By	Ross James Browne (Atlanta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

_The Sickness Unto Death_ is a good place to start reading Kierkegaard. It is shorter than most of his works, and provides a good overview of his most important concepts. One such concept is man's intense desire to understand or somehow obtain proof of the existence of God. Because of our intense fear of death, we are constantly seeking out ways to relieve our doubt concerning the immortality of the soul. Kierkegaard examines this death-drive with remarkable insight, stating that it is in some ways noble, but in other ways is a gross imposition upon God, and a disrespect for God's privacy. In one passage, Kierkegaard suggests that we seek out reasons to experience despair simply in order to drag God across hot coals; that is, in order for us to reach a satisfactory understanding of the existence and/or goodness of God, we have a tendency to go out of our way to find reasons NOT to believe in God. Sometimes these reasons consist in outward examples of atrocities and widespread acts of destructive evil. Other times our despair is of a more inward form, in which we seek to disprove God because of our own shortcomings in avoiding sin. In other words, if we are evil, and consider ourselves to be abnormally bad sinners, we have a vested interest in disproving God; because of our fear of punishment, the existence of God runs counter to our best interests. On the other side of the spectrum, Kierkegaard portrays the more virtuous type of faith as one that avoids higher levels of understanding. Considering the over-abundance in this world of acts we percieve to be evil, it stands to reason that God does not WANT to be fully understood. On page 98, Kierkegaard states: "Is it such great merit or is it not rather insolence or thoughtlessness to want to comprehend that which does not want to be comprehended?" On p.38 he states: "to believe is indeed to lose the understanding in order to gain God". All of this is not to say that Kierkegaard is an anti-intellectual or nihilist. Kierkegaard, who once admitted that he "gropes for the tragic in every direction" in a perverse and convoluted desire to "see" God, is just as guilty as anyone of this "imposition" upon God. His intention is simply bringing to light the dynamics of our strange tendencies to unearth the tragic and the role of death and fear in propelling our desire to understand God. Kierkegaard is not judgemental or admonishing in his treatment of these natural human drives towards knowledge; he just wants to enlighten us on why we act the way we do, and what are the inner springs of our creativity and curiosity. The sources of these creative drives do not always present a pretty picture, but Kierkegaard is honest with himself and with the reader in exposing the dark forces underlying our seemingly innocent intellectual curiosity.

Overall I highly recommend this book to all readers, especially those wanting to get a brief overview of some of Kierkegaard's most important ideas. It is also an excellent precursor to _The Concept of Anxiety_, which picks up where this one left off.

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting a life, April 2, 2002

By A Customer

In sum, Kierkegaard shows that despair is the inability to live with oneself. We all experience depression, disappointment, and anxiety rooted in the identities we strive to establish apart from the one we were meant to have in God. Therefore, there is no greater truth to eradicate despair than this: that God has made us for relationship with Himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him. Only when a person relies on his perfect relationship with God, and not his imperfect relationship with his parents, his society, his friends, as the sole criterion for the worth of his soul will he find rest from despair.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A transparent translation, September 27, 2003

By	Tom "teewcee" (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews

With the many words of review of Kierkegaard, I thought a few should be written in honor of the Hongs, who have render such clear translations. Some of the difficulties of understanding SK are not because of his writing style or the nature of the concepts he was communicating, but less than poetic translations of his work.

The Hongs have remedied that, so now we merely have to contend with what SK had to say. I for one am grateful for their contribution.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Kierkegaard was not a confused "self" but an agonized, overly aware self
Anti-Climacus, the pseudonym that Kierkegaard used in this work, defines sickness as the despair that each person experiences whether he/she knows it or not. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Medusa

4.0 out of 5 stars Priceless
This was my first Kierkegaard book, and I can't imagine it'll ever not be my favorite. This should be everyone's introduction to him. Read more

Published on October 27, 2006 by Ben Hodges

5.0 out of 5 stars Hong translation excels
As a student at St. Olaf College, I got Kierkegaard pretty much thrown at me. The professors Hong translations of Kierkegaard are the most erudite I've seen. Read more

Published on June 10, 2006 by K. Follmer

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best
This is hands down the greatest book I have ever read, not including the Bible. I say that as a Christian and as an individual. Read more

Published on March 7, 2006 by Soren Kierkegaard

5.0 out of 5 stars life saver
where is God? this is the question i asked myself in my own suffering. kierkegaard's sickness unto death helped me understand where God is/was in my own despair. Read more

Published on March 3, 2006 by bleuemoon

5.0 out of 5 stars Great insights for Christian counseling
Based on Kierkegaard's book, it is clear that despair is essential for a person to realize he is not a "self," and thereby turn to God; but many people choose to create a self on... Read more

Published on October 14, 2004 by M. Teresa Trascritti

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding God Through Despair
Soren Kierkegaard is a wonderful philosopher. He understood the universal truth: we are all accountable to God, and our goal is to gain eternal life through this accountability of... Read more

Published on April 5, 2004 by I ain't no porn writer

5.0 out of 5 stars A rollicking romp through medieval Sweden
This book is much more "upbeat" than you might think from its title. I love the characters, I was really moved by the descriptions of furniture and-- wow! Read more

Published on October 30, 2003 by Nanx Hedwerp

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Masterpiece of Philosophical Anthropology
Using a highly compressed schematic of the self as a fundamentally relational being that confronts itself and otherness primarily through the imagination and its determination of... Read more

Published on July 13, 2001 by John Parsons

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