“Johannes Climacus” by Soren Kierkegaard (translated by Edna Hong and Howard Hong)

This is basically an attack against Hegel and his foundations of modern philosophy by Kierkegaard, again writing as Johannes Climacus in this eponymous work. Kierkegaard’s theme is doubt, “De omnibus dubitandum est [Everything must be doubted]…. This thesis became for [Climacus’] life what in other respects a name frequently is in a person’s history—everything can be said in all brevity by mentioning this name…. This thesis became a task for his thinking.” Kierkegaard appears to be wrestling with philosophy itself. “Just as one could have an intimation of a necessity in the past, was it not conceivable that one could have an intimation of a necessity in the future. Philosophy, however, wanted to do something even more difficult: it wanted to permeate everything with the thought of eternity and necessity, wanted to do this in the present moment, which would mean slaying the present with the thought of eternity and yet preserving its fresh life…. Perhaps a particular philosopher had doubted for all just as Christ suffered for all, and is one now only supposed to believe it and not doubt for oneself?” Surely not. Kierkegaard continues with his tale of Climacus’ intellectual journeying. “In an old saga, he had read a story about a knight who received from a troll a rare sword that, in addition to its other qualities, also craved blood the instant it was drawn…. It seemed to Johannes that he must have the same experience with that thesis: when one person said it to another, it became in the latter’s hand a sword that was obliged to slay the former, however painful it was for the latter to reward his benefactor in that way…. The very first person who had primitively discovered that one must begin with doubt had not been in that predicament…. But the single individual who is to learn this from another would fall into the predicament, and if his teacher is not quick enough, he is obliged to become a sacrifice to his teaching.”