Kierkegaard, Aesthetics, and Selfhood: The Art of Subjectivity

271 Pages·2014·1.26 MB·English

by  Peder Jothen

KierKegaard, aesthetics, and selfhood
The works of Søren Kierkegaard have long provoked and perplexed readers, and
nowhere more than in the relation between his accounts of art, aesthetics, and
subjectivity. In this insightful and readable book, Peder Jothen shows how for
Kierkegaard coming to exist as a self is nothing other than the “art of subjectivity”.
This work should be widely read by anyone interested in Kierkegaard’s writings.
William schweiker, University of chicago, Usa
Criticizing common views that Kierkegaard rejects both the aesthetic and the arts,
Peder Jothen portrays beautifully Kierkegaard’s aesthetically rich concept of selfhood,
how the imagination, will, and passion play central roles in various ways of being
in “the art of subjectivity”, particularly in the unexpected yet profound aesthetic
dimensions of Christian existence. Readers will benefit too from Jothen’s stimulating
reflections on the continuing relevance of Kierkegaard’s critical yet constructive
understanding of the role of the arts for Christian faith in the contemporary world.
david J. gouwens, Brite divinity school, Usa
in the digital world, Kierkegaard’s thought is valuable in thinking about aesthetics
as a component of human development, both including but moving beyond the
religious context as its primary center of meaning. seeing human formation as
interrelated with aesthetics makes art a vital dimension of human existence.
contributing to the debate about Kierkegaard’s conception of the aesthetic,
Kierkegaard, aesthetics, and selfhood argues that Kierkegaard’s primary
concern is to provocatively explore how a self becomes christian, with aesthetics
being a vital dimension for such self-formation. at a broader level, Peder Jothen
also focuses on the role, authority, and meaning of aesthetic expression within
religious thought generally and christianity in particular.
ashgate studies in Theology,
imagination and the arts
Series Editors:
Jeremy Begbie, duke University and University of cambridge, Usa
trevor hart, st Mary’s college, University of st andrews, scotland
roger lundin, Wheaton college, Usa
other titles published in this series:
Scripture, Metaphysics, and Poetry
Austin Farrer’s The glass of Vision With Critical Commentary
edited by robert Macswain
Between the Image and the Word
Theological Engagements with Imagination, Language and Literature
trevor hart
Art, Imagination and Christian Hope
Patterns of Promise
edited by trevor hart, gavin hopps and Jeremy Begbie
An Introduction to Jean-Yves Lacoste
Joeri schrijvers
Christian Theology and Tragedy
Theologians, Tragic Literature and Tragic Theory
edited by Kevin taylor and giles Waller
The Poet as Believer
A Theological Study of Paul Claudel
aidan nichols, o.P.
space, Time, and Presence in the Icon
Seeing the World with the Eyes of God
clemena antonova, with a preface by Martin Kemp
Kierkegaard, aesthetics,
and selfhood
The art of subjectivity
Peder Jothen
St. Olaf College, USA
© Peder Jothen 2014
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Peder Jothen has asserted his right under the copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to
be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing company
Wey court east 110 cherry street
Union road suite 3-1
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the British library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Jothen, Peder.
Kierkegaard, aesthetics, and selfhood: The art of subjectivity / by Peder Jothen.
pages cm. – (ashgate studies in Theology, imagination, and the arts)
includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Kierkegaard, sxren, 1813-1855. 2. aesthetics, Modern – 19th century.
3. faith development. 4. christianity and the arts. i. title.
B4378.a4J68 2014
198’.9–dc23 2014009727
isBn 9781409470168 (hbk)
isBn 9781409470175 (ebk–Pdf)
isBn 9781409470182 (ebk–ePUB)
V
Printed in the United Kingdom by henry ling limited,
at the dorset Press, dorchester, dt1 1hd
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1 Kierkegaard’s Ambiguous Aesthetics 7
2 Becoming Christian 47
3 Christ and the Art of Subjective Becoming 91
4 Mimesis, Aesthetics, and Christian Becoming 125
5 Becoming amidst the Existence Stages 167
6 Becoming and Art 203
Postscript 239
Bibliography 249
Index 257
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Acknowledgments
This text comes out of a deep, on-going conversation with a variety of individuals.
No doubt, I cannot do justice to the debt I owe to the voices that shaped this
text; there is a real giftedness underneath this project, as it represents wisdom
beyond my own capacities. My Ph.D. advisor, William Schweiker, introduced
me to Kierkegaard and shaped my entrance into the maze that is his thought.
Further insights came through the vast community assembled through the Hong
Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College, guided into a thoughtful, diverse, and
international community by Gordon Marino and Cynthia Lund. In particular, my
time as a Kierkegaard House Fellow through the Kierkegaard House Foundation
gave me much needed space to reflect on this project. Colleagues at St. Olaf
College, including Jamie Schillinger, Greg Walter, Torin Alexander, Jason Ripley,
DeAne Lagerquist, and Ed Santurri gave time and energy at some point to help
improve this project. Corliss Swain, St. Olaf’s Associate Dean of Humanities,
helped secure funding to complete the project. Finally, teaching Kierkegaard in
a number of classes at St. Olaf made me appreciate the creativity of his works,
especially as it brought out the thoughtfulness and artistry of my students.
Yet, no project of this type is really possible without the rootedness of family.
From my in-laws to my immediate family, this book could not have been written
without such a supportive community. Or the kindly place I call home. Without
Kaethe, Thisbe and Matteus’ love, laughter, and delight, I could not imagine caring
as deeply about growing into selfhood in all of its richness and responsibility, a
primary theme within this text. May we continue to become together, ever hopeful
for the surprises that make life beautiful when lived well with others.
PEDER JOTHEN
January 1, 2014
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Introduction
Christ makes his appearance in the middle of actuality, teaches, suffers—and says:
Imitate me; imitation is Christianity.1
Just as the artist says of the whole painting’s color-tone, which is composed
of many, many colors, “A little bit of red has to be introduced here and there, at this
little point” (and the rest of us probably could scarcely discover the red, the artist
having shaded it so well, whereas he knows exactly why it should be introduced) …
These are the correctives. 2
Kierkegaard,
Journals and Papers
To exist is an art. 3
Johannes Climacus,
Concluding Unscientific Postscript
Imagine yourself as a painter. You are taking a master class with an artistic
genius. She asks you to paint a particular figure, say a young child being held in
a loving embrace by a mother. Your teacher gives you the brushes, paints, canvas,
and frame needed for the task. She also gives you a time limit, say a week, to
complete the project. Now imagine that alongside this painterly task, a God asks
you to form yourself as a particular type of self: an imitator of this God’s son,
Christ. This God gives you your body as well as your capacity to love, imagine,
and choose, all of which you must use for this task. This God also gives you a
time limit, say one’s whole worldly life, to complete the project. Likely, uniting
these two tasks will raise a number of questions in your mind. Which task is
truly essential to selfhood? How might the first task relate to the second? Can
one be an imitator of Christ and yet be a creator of art? Which task is the highest
art, the most creative and productive act?
1 Søren Kierkegaard, Søren Kierkegaard’s Journals and Papers, trans. Howard and Edna
Hong, asst. Gregor Malantschuk (7 vols, Princeton, 1991), vol. 2, p. 368/XI1 A 391, n.d.,
1854. Hereafter, this work will be abbreviated as JP.
2 JP, vol. 1, p. 332/X4 A 596, n.d., 1852.
3 Søren Kierkegaard, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, trans. Howard and Edna Hong
(Princeton, 1992), p. 351.