1 . «The Wise Con adic T h e m s e l es». WI L D E, O. (1996) p. 57.
2 . K i e k e g a a d's W i i n g s, . by How a d V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, ol. I- XXVI, P i n c e o n :
P ince on Un i e si y P ess, 1978-1998.
En ahona 29, 1998 7 5- 7 9
Kie kegaa d he Teache 1
S acey Elizabe h Ake
Sø en Kie kegaa d Fo skningcen e e
The scene: A sunny Sunday a e noon in Copenhagen in la e Ja n u a y o 1850.
Fou men, deeply imme sed in con e sa ion, a e s olling h ough F e d e i k s b e g
Pa k. They a e well known o each o he , wo o hem, Johannes Climacus and
An i-Climacus, appea o be ela ed o each o he , al hough he ela ion is ob -
iously s ained and somewha cool. An elde l y, noble iend, Johannes de silen -
i o, is also among he g oup which is led by he e e wa ch ul Vigilius Ha u n i e n s i s ,
a man who always has his inge on he pulse o he ci y.
Vigilius Hau niensis, guiding he discussion jus as he guided his iends ou o
he ci y and down o he pa k:
« Immedia ely conside ed, he genius is p edominan ly subjec i i y […].
T h e e o e he genius con inually disco e s a e, and he mo e p o o u n d
he genius, he mo e p o ound he disco e y o a e. To spi i lessness, his
is na u ally oolishness [he cas s a quick glance a de silen io], bu in ac uali y
i is g ea ness, because no man is bo n wi h he idea o p o idence, and
hose who hink ha one acqui es i g adually h ough educa ion a e g e-
a ly mis aken, al hough [a sligh nod ow a d An i - C l i m a c u s] I do no he-
e by deny he signi icance o educa ion2.» (KW VIII, 98-99)
Johannes de silen io, o himsel :«Nullum unquam exs i i magnum ingenium sine
aliqua demen ia. »
« Fo such demen ia is he su e ing o genius in he wo ld, is he exp e s-
sion, i I da e say so, o di ine en y, whe eas he genius aspec is he ex-
p ession o p e e men . Thus om he beginning he genius is diso ien-
ed...» (KW VI, 106-107) [Suddenly ca ching himsel and add essing he
o h e s] «Wha , hen, is educa ion? I belie ed i is he cou se he indi idual
goes h ough in o de o ca ch up wi h himsel , and he pe son who will
no go h ough his cou se is no much helped by being in he mos en-
ligh ened age.» (KW VI, 46)
7 6 En ahona 29, 1998 S acey Elizabe h Ake
Johannes Climacus, his eyes b igh ening:
« Vi ewed So c a i c a l l y, any poin o depa u e in ime is eo ipso s o m e h i n g
acciden al, a anishing poin , an occasion. No is he eache any hing
m o e, and i he gi es o himsel and his e udi ion in any o he way, he
does no gi e bu akes away. Then he is no e en he o he 's iend. T h i s
is he p o undi y o Soc a ic hinking, his his noble ho oughgoing hu-
m a n i y, which does no exc l u s i ely and concei edly cul i a e he company
o b illian minds bu eels jus as akin o a anne , and o ha e a s o n
[squa ing his shoulde s in quo a ion as only an academic wannabee can do]
he soon “became con inced ha he s udy o na u e is no man's conce n
and he e o e began o philosophize abou he e hical in wo kshops and
in he ma ke place” (Diogenes Lae ius, II, V, 21) [He seeks ou admi -
ing glances, bu none a e o h c o m i n g], bu philosophized jus as absolu-
ely wi h whome e he spoke. Wi h hal - hough s, wi h higgling and hag-
gling, wi h claiming and disclaiming, as i he indi idual o a ce ain de-
g ee owed some hing o ano he pe son bu hen again did no , wi h a g u e
w o ds ha explain e e y hing excep wha is mean by his “ o a ce a i n
d e g e e” —wi h all such hings one does no go beyond Soc a es o e a c h
he concep o e ela ion—, ei he , bu simply emains in emp y alk. In
he Soc a ic iew, e e y human being is himsel he midpoin , and he who-
le wo ld ocuses only on him because his sel -knowledge is Go d - k n ow-
ledge. Mo e o e , his is how Soc a es unde s ood himsel , and in his iew
his is how e e y human being mus unde s and himsel , and by i ue o
ha unde s anding he mus unde s and.» (KW VII, 11)
An i-Climacus, exaspe a ed:
« No. Why no ? Because one canno k n owany hing a all abou C h i s ; he
is he pa adox, he objec o ai h, exis s only o ai h.» (KW XX, 25)
Johannes Climacus, pe ulan ly whining:
« Soc a es, howe e , was a midwi e examined by he god himsel . The wo k
he ca ied ou was a di ine commission.» (KW VII, 10)
An i-Climacus, wi h a w y smi k:
«Assuming ha he dis inc i e ma k o being God is (indeed, who in
he whole wo ld would ha e hough o his; how ue ha such a hing
did no a ise in any human hea !) o look exac ly like e e ybody else,
nei he mo e no less: hen we a e all gods. Quod e a demons a n d u m. »
(K W X X , 5 1 )
Johannes de silen io, quie ly b o o d i ng:
« Soc a es was he mos in e es ing man who e e li ed, his li e he mos in-
e es ing li e e e led, bu his exis ence was allo ed o him by he god, and
inasmuch as he himsel had o acqui e i , he was no a s ange o o u b l e
and pain. To ake such an exis ence in ain is no becoming o anyo n e
who hinks mo e ea nes ly abou li e [de silen io cas s a meaning ul look in
An i-Climacus' di e c i o n], and ye in ou age, we equen ly see examples
Kie kegaa d he Teache . «The Wise Con adic Themsel es» En ahona 29, 1998 7 7
o such an e o . Fu h e m o e, he in e es ing is a bo de ca ego y, a c o n -
i n i u m b e ween es he ics and e hics. Ac c o d i n g l y, his examina ion mus
cons an ly wande in o he e i o y o e hics, while in o de o be o con-
sequence i mus seize he p oblem wi h es he ic e o and concupiscence.
These days, e hics a ely in o l es i sel wi h a ques ion like his. The e-
ason mus be ha he sys em has no oom o i . T h e e o e, one could do
i in monog aphs.» (KW VI, 83)
Vigilius Hau niensis, wa ming o he subjec :
« E hics is s ill an ideal science, and no only in he sense ha e e y scien-
ce is ideal. E hics p oposes o b ing ideali y in o ac uali y. […] This ide-
al cha ac e is ic o e hics is wha emp s one o i s use me aphysical [h e
looks a Climacus], hen es he ic [he nods o de silen io], and hen psyc h o-
logical ca ego ies in he ea men o i [wi h a sel -mocking smile]. Bu
e hics, mo e han any o he science, mus esis such emp a ions. I is,
h e e o e, impossible o anyone o w i e an e hics wi hou ha ing al o-
ge he di e en ca ego ies in e s e e.» (KW VIII, 16-17)
An i-Climacus, knocking his walking s ick on he g ound o emphasis:
« T uly i is high ime o he e q u i emen s o ideali y o be hea d. […]
Only he consciousness o sin is absolu e espec . […] The simple soul
who humbly acknowledges himsel o be a sinne , himsel pe sonally ( he
single indi idual), has no need o lea n abou all he di icul ies ha come
when one is nei he simple no humble. Bu whe e his humble cons-
ciousness o pe sonally being a sinne is lacking [ h owing a sidelong glan -
ce a his e s while e l a i o n]-- well, i a pe son such as ha o he wise pos-
sessed all human wisdom and sagaci y and all human gi s, i will be o
only li le bene i o him.» (KW XX, 67-68)
Johannes Climacus, es ily ising o he bai :
« In his way he Soc a ic p inciple ha all sin is igno ance is co ec ; sin
does no unde s and i sel in he u h.» (KW VII, 50n)
Johannes de silen io in e up s, heedless o his namesake:
«An e hics ha igno es sin is a comple ely u ile discipline, bu i i a -
i ms sin, hen i has eo ipsoe xceeded i sel » (KW VI, 98-99). [He e he pau -
ses o hough ] «As soon as sin eme ges, e hics ounde s p ecisely on e-
pen ance; o epen ance is he highes e hical exp ession, bu p ecisely as
such i is he deepes e hical sel -con adic ion.» (KW VI, 98n)
Vigilius Hau niensis ubs his glo ed inge s unde his chin:
«A consciousness o sin p o oundly and se iously o med in he exp e s-
sion o epen ance is a g ea a i y. Howe e , o my own sake, as well as
o he sake o hough and neighbo , I shall ake ca e no o exp ess i as
Schelling p obably would, who speaks somew h e e o a genius o ac ion
in he same sense as o music e c. Thus, wi hou being awa e o i , one
can a imes annihila e e e y hing wi h an explana o y wo d. [He aps An i -
7 8 En ahona 29, 1998 S acey Elizabe h Ake
3 . S ø en Kie k e g a a d's Jo u nals and Pa p e s, ed. and . by How a d V. Hong and Edna H. Ho n g ,
assis ed by G ego Malan schuk, ol. 1-6, ol. 7. Index and Composi e Colla ion,
Blooming on and London: Indiana Un i e si y P ess, 1967-1978.
Climacus on he a m signi ican ly.] I e e y man does no pa icipa e es-
sen ially in he absolu e, hen e e y hing is o e . T h e e o e, in he sphe-
e o he eligious, genius mus no be spoken o as a special gi ha is
b e s owed only upon a ew, o he e he gi is ha o willing, and [h e e he
looks away] whoe e does no will should a leas ha e he espec o no
being pi ied.» (KW VIII, 114)
Johannes Climacus, a bi disdain ully:
«The consciousness o sin […]. Only he god could each i —i he wan-
ed o be eache .» (KW VII, 47)
An i-Climacus, assuming his mos pa e nalis ic one:
«Ch is is a pe son and is he eache who is mo e impo an han he e-
aching […] I is ue only o a human being ha his eaching is mo e im-
p o an han he himsel ; o apply his o Ch is is blasphemy, inasmuch
as i makes him in o only a human being.» (KW XX, 124)
Johannes Climacus, ag e e i n g - s a d o n i c a l ly:
« Fai h, hen, mus cons an ly cling i mly o he eache .» (KW VII, 62)
An i-Climacus nods empah ically:
«When a pe son li es in such a way ha he knows no highe c i e ion o
li e han ha o he unde s anding, hen his whole li e is e l a i i y, wo -
king only o e l a i e goals; [he sighs] he does no hing unless he unde s-
anding wi h some help om p obabili y can make mo e o less clea he
a d an ages and he disad an ages, can answe his ques ion “why and o
wha end.” [And he e he s a s picking up speed.] I is di e en wi h he ab-
solu e» (KW XX, 116), « he unde s anding comes o a s ands ill a he ab-
solu e. I he e is o be any iumphan b e a k h ough, he e mus be ai h,
o ai h is a new li e.» (KW XX, 120)
Johannes de silen io wi h a sad d ooping o his head:
«I canno make he mo emen o ai h, I canno shu my eyes and plun-
ge con iden ly in o he absu d; i is o me an impossibili y. […] [Wi h a
hopeless ce ain y he adds:] I am con inced ha God is lo e.» (KW VI 34)
A spindly-legged s ange add esses de silen io di e c ly:
« To hold as his way o he hough ha God is lo e jus he same is he
abs ac o m o ai h, ai h in abs a c o[…] [The s ange u ns o he o he s
and poin s a de silen io wi h his umb e l l a .] This is a sign ha he is being
educa ed o b ough up o ai h […] Then he ime will come when he
will succeed in conc e izing his Go d - e l a i o n s h i p.» (J P, 1401)3[He pu s
a hin hand on de silen io's shoulde and looks in o his eye s] «God in hea -
Kie kegaa d he Teache . «The Wise Con adic Themsel es» En ahona 29, 1998 7 9
en is my eache , and I coun i an hono o be his disciple, ha he edu-
ca ed me.» (J P, 785)
Vigilius Hau niensis, shaking his head in pe plexi y as he s ange walks away:
«The ue au odidac is p ecisely in he same deg ee a heodidac , as ano he
au ho has said…» (KW VIII, 162)
Sugges ed Bi b l i o g a p h y
S ø en Kie k e g a a d's Jo u nals and Pa p e s, ed. and . by How a d V. Hong and Edna H.
Hong, assis ed by G ego Malan schuk, ol. 1-6, ol. 7. Index and Composi e
Colla ion, Blooming on and London: Indiana Un i e si y P ess, 1967-1978.
See especially ol. 1, 649-657 (VIII 2 B 81-89-1847).
K i e k e g a a d's W i i n g s, . by How a d V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, ol. I-XXVI,
P ince on: P ince on Un i e si y P ess, 1978-p esen . See especially he ollow i n g :
AN T I- CL I M AC U S: P ac ice in Ch is iani y, ol. XX. The Sickness Un o De a h, ol. XIX.
Johannes CL I M AC U S: Philosophical F a g m e n s; Johannes Climacus, ol. V I I .
Concluding Unscien i ic Pos sc ip o Philosophical F agmen s, ol. XII.1 (no es: o l .
X I I . 2 ) .
Johannes de S I L E N T I O : Fea and T e m b l i n g, ol. V I .
Vigilius HAU F N I E N S I S: The Concep o An x i e y, ol. V I I I .
WI L D E, O. (1996) «Ph ases and Philosophies o he Use o he Young» in No h i n g . . .
Excep My Ge n i u s. Ed. F y, S. London: Hu c h i n s o n .