Kierkegaard's Concept of Faith
Author | : Merold Westphal |
Publisher | : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |
Total Pages | : 294 |
Release | : 2014-08-11 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781467442299 |
ISBN-13 | : 1467442291 |
Rating | : 4/5 (99 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: In this book renowned philosopher Merold Westphal unpacks the writings of nineteenth-century thinker Søren Kierkegaard on biblical, Christian faith and its relation to reason. Across five books — Fear and Trembling, Philosophical Fragments, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Sickness Unto Death, and Practice in Christianity — and three pseudonyms, Kierkegaard sought to articulate a biblical concept of faith by approaching it from a variety of perspectives in relation to one another. Westphal offers a careful textual reading of these major discussions to present an overarching analysis of Kierkegaard’s conception of the true meaning of biblical faith. Though Kierkegaard presents a complex picture of faith through his pseudonyms, Westphal argues that his perspective is a faithful and illuminating one, making claims that are important for philosophy of religion, for theology, and most of all for Christian life as it might be lived by faithful people.