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The definitive edition of the Writings. The first volume . . . indicates the scholarly value of the entire series: an introduction setting the work in the context of Kierkegaard's development; a remarkably clear translation; and concluding sections of intelligent notes. -- "Library Journal
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A classic that transcends time - Kierkegaard's Sickness Unto Death reveals the struggling search for the self. We are led to relate "despair" to the act of achieving one's "true" self and life is left only bearable through faith in God and afterlife.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Kierkegaard goes deep into our corrupted nature. In his pursuit, he relentlessly exposes our inner filth as no one else (save Christ himself) has done before. The book expresses most forcefully what it means to be a human being. Unlike other existentialist works, the remedy is provided.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
19 reviews
87 of 87 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating
7 April 2003
Format:Paperback
_The Sickness Unto Death_ is a good place to start reading Kierkegaard. It is shorter than most of his works, and provides a good overview of his most important concepts. One such concept is man's intense desire to understand or somehow obtain proof of the existence of God. Because of our intense fear of death, we are constantly seeking out ways to relieve our doubt concerning the immortality of the soul. Kierkegaard examines this death-drive with remarkable insight, stating that it is in some ways noble, but in other ways is a gross imposition upon God, and a disrespect for God's privacy. In one passage, Kierkegaard suggests that we seek out reasons to experience despair simply in order to drag God across hot coals; that is, in order for us to reach a satisfactory understanding of the existence and/or goodness of God, we have a tendency to go out of our way to find reasons NOT to believe in God. Sometimes these reasons consist in outward examples of atrocities and widespread acts of destructive evil. Other times our despair is of a more inward form, in which we seek to disprove God because of our own shortcomings in avoiding sin. In other words, if we are evil, and consider ourselves to be abnormally bad sinners, we have a vested interest in disproving God; because of our fear of punishment, the existence of God runs counter to our best interests. On the other side of the spectrum, Kierkegaard portrays the more virtuous type of faith as one that avoids higher levels of understanding. Considering the over-abundance in this world of acts we percieve to be evil, it stands to reason that God does not WANT to be fully understood. On page 98, Kierkegaard states: "Is it such great merit or is it not rather insolence or thoughtlessness to want to comprehend that which does not want to be comprehended?" On p.38 he states: "to believe is indeed to lose the understanding in order to gain God". All of this is not to say that Kierkegaard is an anti-intellectual or nihilist. Kierkegaard, who once admitted that he "gropes for the tragic in every direction" in a perverse and convoluted desire to "see" God, is just as guilty as anyone of this "imposition" upon God. His intention is simply bringing to light the dynamics of our strange tendencies to unearth the tragic and the role of death and fear in propelling our desire to understand God. Kierkegaard is not judgemental or admonishing in his treatment of these natural human drives towards knowledge; he just wants to enlighten us on why we act the way we do, and what are the inner springs of our creativity and curiosity. The sources of these creative drives do not always present a pretty picture, but Kierkegaard is honest with himself and with the reader in exposing the dark forces underlying our seemingly innocent intellectual curiosity.
Overall I highly recommend this book to all readers, especially those wanting to get a brief overview of some of Kierkegaard's most important ideas. It is also an excellent precursor to _The Concept of Anxiety_, which picks up where this one left off.
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Getting a life
3 April 2002
Format:Paperback
In sum, Kierkegaard shows that despair is the inability to live with oneself. We all experience depression, disappointment, and anxiety rooted in the identities we strive to establish apart from the one we were meant to have in God. Therefore, there is no greater truth to eradicate despair than this: that God has made us for relationship with Himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him. Only when a person relies on his perfect relationship with God, and not his imperfect relationship with his parents, his society, his friends, as the sole criterion for the worth of his soul will he find rest from despair.
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
A transparent translation
27 Sep 2003
Format:Paperback
With the many words of review of Kierkegaard, I thought a few should be written in honor of the Hongs, who have render such clear translations. Some of the difficulties of understanding SK are not because of his writing style or the nature of the concepts he was communicating, but less than poetic translations of his work.
The Hongs have remedied that, so now we merely have to contend with what SK had to say. I for one am grateful for their contribution.
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