Description
Johannes Climacus, Soren Kierkegaard's pseudonymous author of Philosophical Fragments, "invents" a religion suspiciously resembling Christianity as an alternative to the assumption that humans possess the Truth within themselves. Through this literary device, Climacus raises in a fresh and audacious way age-old questions about the relation of Christian faith to human reason. Is the idea of a human incarnation of God logically coherent? Is religious faith the product of a voluntary choice? In a comprehensive discussion of one of Kierkegaard's most important books, C. Stephen Evans elucidates Kierkegaard's novel explanation that the tension between faith and reason must be understood as a consequence of the passionate character of reason itself. Passionate Reason situates Kierkegaard's philosophy in the context of postmodern religious thought, providing a contemporary reading of Fragments as a challenge to both the modern Enlightenment critique of reason and the postmodern abandonment of truth.
Reviews
"This new text will likely have a long life, in part because of the issues Evans raises, but also because of the sensitivity and care with which he treats those issues ... There is much in this book that is praiseworthy and deserves our thanks." - Christian Century " ... surely the best commentary on Fragments to date." - Soren Kierkegaard Newsletter "This brief, careful, lucid, and illuminating study of the Fragments gives close attention to its literary form and irony as well as to its argument ... "- Choice
Book Information
ISBN 9780253320735
Author C. Stephen Evans
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 454g
