What does kierkegaard mean by essential knowledge

He feared that the opportunity of achieving genuine selfhood was diminished by the social production of stereotypes. He lived in an age when mass society was emerging from a highly stratified feudal order and was contemptuous of the mediocrity the new social order generated.

One symptom of the change was that mass society substitutes detached reflection for engaged passionate commitment. Yet the latter is crucial for Christian faith and for authentic selfhood according to Kierkegaard. His pamphleteering achieved little immediate impact, but his substantial philosophical, literary, psychological and theological writings have had a lasting effect.

Ibsen and Strindberg, together with Friedrich Nietzsche, became central icons of the modernism movement in Berlin in the s. Taking his cue from Brandes, the Swedish literary critic Ola Hansson subsequently promoted this conjunction of writers in Berlin itself. Berlin modernism self-consciously sought to use art as a means of political and social change.

Many other writers have been inspired by Kierkegaard to tackle fundamental issues in philosophy, politics, theology and psychology. Franz Kafka, Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida have all written extensively in response, to try to sort out the implications for ethics and faith. Kierkegaard was a saint. This has produced quite a debate about the relevance of Kierkegaard for developing narrative accounts of the self, with notable contributions by Anthony Rudd, John Davenport, John Lippitt and Patrick Stokes.

Paul Ricoeur and Judith Butler have also been influenced by Kierkegaard, especially regarding his use of rhetoric and narrative point of view to critique systematic philosophy. It is impossible to give an exhaustive list of the important thinkers who owe an intellectual or existential debt to Kierkegaard.

The diversity of the writers and thinkers mentioned above nevertheless testifies to the breadth and depth of his influence, which continues into the present age. Published against his Will by S. Kierkegaard passed final theological examination - proposed to Regine Olsen, who accepted him broke off his engagement to Regine Olsen - defended his dissertation On the Concept of Irony with constant reference to Socrates Om Begrebet Ironi med stadigt Hensyn til Socrates - trip to Berlin, where he attended lectures by Schelling returned from Berlin Either-Or: A Fragment of Life edited by Victor Eremita Enten-Eller.

Af Johannes Climacus. Udgivet af S. Studier af Forskjellige. Kierkegaard Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift til de philosophiske Smuler. Udgiven af S. Kierkegaard En literair Anmeldelse af S. Kierkegaard Opbyggelige Taler i forskjellig Aand af S. Kierkegaard Kjerlighedens Gjerninger. Nogle christelige Overveielser i Talers Form, af S. Kierkegaard Christelige Taler, af S. En ligefrem Meddelelse, Rapport til Historien, af S.

Kierkegaard Lilien paa Marken og Fuglen under Himlen. Tre gudelige Taler af S. Tvende ethisk-religieuse Smaa-Afhandlinger. Af Anticlimacus. Af Anti-Climacus—Udgivet af S. Kierkegaard - An Edifying Discourse by S.

Kierkegaard En opbyggelig Tale. Kierkegaard Om min Forfatter-Virksomhed. Kierkegaard - Judge For Yourselves! Recommended to the present time for Self-Examination. Second series, by S. Kierkegaard - The Instant by S. Kierkegaard Guds Uforanderlighed.

En Tale—Af S. Kierkegaard - Kierkegaard died November Adorno, Theodor W. Billeskov Jansen, F. Bloom, Harold ed. En kritisk Fremstilling i Grundrids , Copenhagen: Gyldendal. Davenport John J. Derrida, Jacques, , The Gift of Death , trans. Evans, C. Ferreira, M. Bruce H. Kirmmse, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Reitzels Forlag. Knox, Macon: Mercer University Press. Hall, Ronald L. Hannay, Alastair and Gordon Marino eds. Houe, Poul, , Gordon D. Jegstrup, Elsebet ed. Kirmmse, Bruce H. Laursen, Princeton, N. Law, David R. Lippitt, John and George Pattison eds. Malantschuk, Gregor, , Frihed og Eksistens.

Malik, Habib C. Kirmmse, Pittsburgh, Pa. Podmore, Simon D. Stewart, Jon ed. The role of a teacher is to aid his students in developing an understanding of the material with which they are being presented. That is, a teacher is more of a facilitator of learning. Also for Kierkegaard, learning is more than just the understanding of facts as they are presented. This is due, in large part, to the Kierkegaardian principle that "human existence is a mode of being in which subjectivity is the truth and [ Remember that for Kierkegaard, the human experience is unique to each individual and there is no "objective truth.

Nevertheless, there are certain empirical fields for which this is less true. In mathematics, for example, evidence supports the so-called "golden ratio. In empirical fields such as mathematics and the physical sciences, where there is detailed evidence to support the facts, things are not as likely to be viewed subjectively.

Hence, learning these things is pretty direct and objective. Subjectivity is most important in learning the "soft" sciences, such as psychology and sociology. It is even more so in learning subjects such as art, literature, and even history because even accounts of historical events are colored by those who have remembered and written about them.

For Kierkegaard learning is more or less subjective and its primary function is not necessarily the transmission of facts from one generation to the next, but the development of individuals. Learning, then, is a transformative process in which individuals participate collaboratively to gain a richer understanding of not only the subjects that they are studying, but of themselves. Learning is, for Kierkegaard, "the active sharing of views between learner and facilitator" Walters, , p.

If learning is a process and the educator's role one more of "facilitator" than "teacher", it is easy to see how didactic teaching -- the recitation of facts and direct communication -- would be better suited to the teaching of science and mathematics.

All other subjects require a more indirect method of teaching, in order to facilitate learning. As Broudy puts it, "Direct communication, with its goal of unambiguous reference, is a clumsy tool wherewith to convey the ambiguous" Broudy, , p.

We see, then, that for Kierkegaard, the most important form of learning is that which contributes to the understanding and the definition of oneself. Transformative learning "foster[s] life experience, critical reflection, and personal development" Walters, , p.

In order to engage in learning of this type, learners must feel safe and secure, so that they are able not only to explore the material presented but also so that they feel comfortable enough to make choices that will contribute to a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the "self" ibid, Subjectivity is key to this type of transformative learning, and in order for students to feel comfortable participating in it, it is necessary that the value of each individual be clear in regard to their importance in the learning process.

In order for true learning to take place, "education must offer more than 'instruction', more than the mere offering of facts" Walters, , p. Education must recognize the importance of the individual and appreciate the subjectivity of the material which is being presented. Each learner in the classroom will approach the same material -- the same supposed 'facts' -- from a different perspective based upon his or her own life experiences, the social climate of the area in which he lives, and the value which he feels is brought to the classroom by his or her participation.

The relationships that are created between educator and learner in the classroom, and the relationships that exist between learners, must all work in harmony to create an environment in which the free exchange of ideas is possible without the fear of judgment, if real learning is to occur.

According to Walters , Kierkegaard would argue that the true purpose of learning is discovery of the "self" and "the freedom of being self defining" p.

For Kierkegaard, existential learning through the use of choice, through the use of communication and the understanding of subjectivity, can expand the vantage of learning to allow for the development of "individual transformations" leading to "existential being" Walters, , p.

This must occur through processes of exploration, rather than didactic teaching, where the individual is allowed to experience and subjectively process the material with which he is presented, he will take advantage of those opportunities to engage in meaningful questioning and self-conscious decision making which will further develop his definition of the "self", which is the very purpose of existential learning.

Theory of Transmission: Who is to teach? By what methods? What will the curriculum be? Kierkegaard contends that while factual information is important, a lifestyle guided by the conscious choosing of oneself is essential to the transfer of knowledge. Consequently, the acquisition of objectified knowledge, which is commonly the goal of many educational practices, is relatively meaningless.

Worse still, the process of obtaining this knowledge by making a series of "objective" choices is the apotheosis of Kierkegaard's theories. The search for purely objective knowledge is absurd according to Kierkegaard because there is a neutralization of the agent involved meaning that one would not use their own experiences, either personal or vicarious, to make a decision regarding lifestyle.

Conversely, the process of obtaining this lifestyle through choice is essentially the knowledge to be gained because the agent gains insight, either personal or vicarious, that aids in the ability to make decisions.

Kierkegaard challenges mere questioning in order to gain objective knowledge. He favors a student living with a group of people and making choices in order to understand the process of learning.

This is exemplified by Buddhist monks, for example, who encourage pupils to learn through experience and, in effect, choose themselves. Ultimately, if one is not choosing a lifestyle or vocation it neutralizes the humanity and decision making of the agent. In short, for Kierkegaard the process of learning is more important than pursuing a particular answer because the process involves a personal choice, and that is where education begins.

Attempts to transmit objective knowledge are absurd according to Kierkegaard because it causes the agent to become static. He stresses "that the agent changes as part of the process of moral decision-making, with personal experience and insight integral parts of that process," Warren, , p.

This means that a person experiences a qualitative difference in their education when a particular esoteric notion is experienced or lived. Simply utilizing oratorical discourse to discover objective truth will not catalyze a change in the person either spiritually or educationally. One can undergo such an 'education' without making an actual choice. Therefore, real education cannot occur because there is a lack of experience either personal or vicarious. Kierkegaard's view of education is novel because it holds people accountable for their choices and lifestyle and includes the former and the latter as essential for education.

Kierkegaard refused to give answers to people, but rather kept them in a state of disequilibrium in order to promote the student making a choice. Kierkegaard criticized the notion that thinking made someone exist. The act of choice is what constitutes a person's existence and consequently his or her education. The practice and process of education are essential to Kierkegaard's philosophy, which claims that education is the process, lifestyle, or choice consistently utilized and lived every second of the day.

Theory of Society: What is society? What institutions are involved in the educational process? In considering Kierkegaard's idea of "society" one must consider what makes a society. The Oxford English Dictionary defines society as "1. In this context it is easy to see why Kierkegaard perceives society as playing an integral part in the formation of the "self" by way of the opportunities it presents for the making self-defining choices.

However, trying to derive an understanding of Kierkegaard's definition of society as a group of individuals, rather than a condition of one's existence, is slightly more difficult. Kierkegaard is often interpreted as having been a staunch individualist, given his emphasis on the "self," his questioning of the ability of individuals to be truly objective, and his view that everything that an individual experiences is colored by his or her personal history.

Moore notes, specifically, that it has been asserted that Kierkegaard "remained a lonely and uncompromising individualist, who was painfully insensitive to social dimensions of human existence" p. However, he goes on to detail how Kierkegaard was not an individualist, but simply viewed relationships with other individuals as meaningful only so long as the "self" of either individual was not lost to the relationship. In other words, two individuals can feel a kinship toward one another and can have a close friendship or even a love relationship, as long as both individuals continue to pursue a self-conscious definition of the "self".

Kierkegaard's arguing that "erotic love as preferential love is really a form of self-love" and that "the beloved and the friend" are simply versions of "the 'other-self'" Moore, , p. Kierkegaard's claim that passion is "the genuinely human quality" indicates that the human being is above all an erotic creature: a being who, conscious that she lacks something — including, perhaps, the knowledge of what this "something" is — reaches out beyond herself.

In fact, this continual reaching out constitutes the movement of becoming that Kierkegaard identifies as "existence". This basic structure of human life shows itself in a variety of ways within Kierkegaard's works. For example, he emphasises that human existence is oriented to the future. Like the object of desire invoked by Socrates, the future is not yet possessed or known, and remains an elusive, ever-retreating horizon towards which life is lived. Kierkegaard famously wrote that, although life is lived forwards, it can only be understood backwards: only the past can become an object of knowledge.

He thought that this fact challenged the philosophical claim — particularly prominent within Hegelian philosophy — that reason can encompass the whole of human life.

In a more specifically Christian context, Kierkegaard's focus on passion as opposed to reason finds expression in his claim that Christian teachings are paradoxical. He regards the doctrine of the incarnation — the appearance of God in human form, of the eternal within history — as a paradox that cannot be thought. Reason certainly plays an important role in relating to this doctrine, since it is reason which recognises the paradox as a paradox.

But rational thought comes to a halt in the face of a paradox, and cannot penetrate it or assimilate it. Higher educational aims, I believe, should also facilitate a thinking that enables individuals to take responsibility for the humanity in their own person, just as the aforementioned school principal stressed. Therefore, we need another understanding of how to gain insight into humanity other than through objective thinking.

From the standpoint of physics human beings are composed of fundamental particles interacting in accordance with the probabilistic generalizations of quantum mechanics. From that of chemistry we are the sites of chemical interactions, assemblages of elements and compounds. From that of biology we are multicellular organisms belonging to species each of which has its own evolutionary past.

From that of historians we are intelligible only as emerging from long histories of social and economic transformations. From that of economists we are rational profit-maximizing makers of decisions. From that of psychology and sociology we shape and are shaped by our perceptions, our emotions, and our social roles and institutions. And from that of students of literature and the arts it is in the exercise of our various imaginative powers that we exhibit much that is distinctive about human beings.

MacIntyre , p. If this quote summarizes the objective knowledge about what a human being is, particularly as taught within higher education, then this knowledge in itself does not help me take responsibility for my humanness because it gives me no unifying understanding of what it is to be human, either generally or as a unique singular individual.

If all the multifarious forms of knowledge point in different directions, how am I to learn to act as a human being, in relation to what kind of human being I can be? How can I take responsibility for my life? The second is truth as such; it concerns the relationship between the subject and the object propositional knowledge, i.

Kierkegaard asks: what is the relation between a proposition and an existing human being? Furthermore, how can a psychological entity, such as a belief, be true? When investigating knowledge-that propositions, there are different approaches to justification, for example correspondence, coherence and pragmatic theories of truth.

Hence the diverse statements in the MacIntyre quote about what a human being is can be analysed according to various theories of truth. So, how can the relationship between an individual subject and truth be investigated?

This is what Kierkegaard regards as the most important truth—to be true as a subject—and this is only possible if one truly becomes subjective Kierkegaard , p. Objectively, it is possible to investigate the different propositions about what a human being is according to various theories of truths.

We would then focus on what a human being is as such, and in Kierkegaard words, become a book. We would then be moving away from ourselves as subjects—as unique human beings. If we are going to treat the knowledge about human beings, as expressed in the MacIntyre quote, in terms of subjective thinking, we must, as existential beings, be deeply concerned about the possibility of the truth of these propositions, turning them into ethical demands in relation to what it existentially means to be an existing individual.

This content can thus be expressed in a proposition. Footnote 4 Accordingly, the problem of beliefs being true or false is converted into the problem of propositions being true or false and justified through various theories of truth. When the matter of beliefs is only approached as a mental concern, we as existers become increasingly objective and move away from ourselves as subjects. He is what Evans calls a modest epistemologist, where the goal of epistemology is simply to become clearer about what knowledge is and how it is acquired Evans , p.

According to Kierkegaard, the kind of relationship between an exister and the truth that is possible is something essential for the exister to obtain.

It is in this context that Kierkegaard puts forth the definition of truth as subjectivity. This definition is not intended to apply to logic, history and other areas where the particular kind of truth does not essentially bear on existence. If I only think about this abstractly, I will never come to know and experience the consequences of such a belief.

However, if I engage in life and live out the consequences of this understanding of what it is to be a human being in relation to my own existence, I will experience the truth of the content of the proposition, subjectively. Human beings as thinkers are first and foremost persons in existence. Thinking about what a human being is must therefore include something other than making various knowledge-that propositions about human beings.

Subjective knowledge, however, is not to be equated with subjectivism. Kierkegaard develops an approach to subjective knowledge that makes it possible to have justified beliefs about psychological truths. As such, thinking makes ethical demands. Kierkegaard holds that truths concerning subjectivity require a different justification than propositional knowledge.

There are no truth-tables in logical theory for whether a life can be true. Truth is more than an ideal; it becomes actualized in time, as lived experience. Truth for Kierkegaard is not just something to be known, but something to be appropriated in inwardness; it must be acted on Perkins If we are to be responsible, subjective knowledge is necessary, says Kierkegaard, and this knowledge involves contact with or participation in the reality in question.

Subjective knowledge proper is not the product of an observation of reality. All essential knowing pertains to existence, or only the knowledge whose relation to existence is essential knowing. Essentially viewed, the knowing that does not inwardly in the reflection of inwardness pertain to existence is accidental knowing, and its degree and scope, essentially viewed, are a matter of indifference […] it means that the knowledge is related to the knower, who is essentially an existing person and that all essential knowing is therefore related to existence and to existing.

Therefore, only ethical and ethical-religious knowledge is essential knowing. But all ethical and all ethical-religious knowing is essentially a relating to the existing of the knower. Kierkegaard , pp.

Kierkegaard uses different concepts to analyse this process of subjective truth and essential knowledge. Footnote 5 The justification for subjective truths and subjective thinking is their upbuilding character. The following story, developed by Robert L. Suppose two mothers, both of whose sons are accused of a crime. Both want to believe their sons innocent, but their attitude is entirely different.

One mother wants her son to be cleared, to be declared innocent and she does all she can to ascertain the fact in order that her son can be found innocent. However she is willing to let the facts stand; she does not tinker with, suppress, or deny what does not support what she desires. She will act on the basis of innocence till the facts declare one way or the other. Even if the son were guilty, it would deprive neither him nor her of love.

The other mother wishes also that her son will be found innocent. Perkins , p. The two mothers will live different lives as a result of how they choose to live in the truth. Similarly, if we live according to what we believe we as human beings are, we will experience the upbuilding character Footnote 7 these understandings have when transformed into lived experience.

The UHR committee was more reluctant to adopt such a recommendation, since it was sceptical as to whether knowledge about Bildung results in Bildung. I agree with the UHR committee in its emphasis on internalized knowledge as an important aspect in conceptualizations of Bildung , but I have argued, on the background of how knowledge is outlined in official Norwegian documents, that the concept of knowledge is moving in a wrong direction: it is becoming a commodity to be traded in a market with its own transformative power.

If the Bologna descriptors embedded in higher education are meant to be able to initiate Bildung , I hold that we must work for a different understanding of knowledge, one which is not solely objective and objectified. If higher education shall enable responsibility, it must initiate a thinking that involves entering the realm of ethics and not just learning about it as a subject.

This implies that educators within higher education should also see the process of how knowledge becomes internalised as their task initiating an approach to knowledge as also entailing the question of subjective truth. Dannelsesutvalget committee on Bildung Bostad et al. However, as the Dannelsesutvalget II has not delivered its final report, I will refer to Bostad et al.

Kierkegaard develops a distinction between being and becoming ; already but not yet. He thinks we are not really what we are—human—before we are in a relation to God. If we live our lives without a relation to God, we are not what we really are. Enquiry into this theme—the connection between the individual exister and truth—can be found, for instance, in Philosophical Fragments , The Concluding Unscientific Postscript , and Two Ages.

In relation to the previous argument I am indebted to Stephen Evans analysis of subjective knowledge. For an elaboration of upbuilding as a pedagogical concept, see Wivestad a , b. Upbuilding serves as a justification in relation to objects of knowledge that pertain to subjective knowledge knowledge of God, self-knowledge, and ethical-religious knowledge. Accessed August 13, Barnett, R. The limits of competence: Knowledge, higher education and society.

Google Scholar. Biesta, G. Beyond learning democratic education for a human future. Boulder, CO: Paradigm. Blichfeldt, J. On knowledge bases and maps of knowledge: Some quiddities on getting to know in contemporary higher education.