Philosophical Fragments/Johannes Climacus : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 7 Review

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(More customer reviews)If one were to read only two or three of Kierkegaard's works, this is unquestionably one of the ones to read. In this work and in its successor, Kierkegaard, employing the pseudonym of Johannes Climacus, seeks to explain the nature of Christianity in such as way as to bring out its demands on the individual, and to emphasize its incompatibility with the theology based on the work of Hegel that was becoming progressively more influential in Denmark (and in the rest of the world as well). In PHILOSOPHICAL FRAGMENTS, Kierkegaard explains through his pseudonym, he wants to present the problem of Christianity "algebraically" (i.e., logically), while in the ironically titled CONCLUDING UNSCIENTIFIC POSTSCRIPT TO THE PHILOSOPHICAL FRAGMENTS (ironic because the earlier book is quite short, while the POSTSCRIPT is four times longer) intends to "clothe the problem in historical dress." What Kierkegaard purports to do in this brief book is present the logic of Christianity.
The title is badly translated in all English editions, being a Biblical reference, to the story of the rich man Dives and Lazarus. Just as the poor man Lazarus had to be content with the crumbs from the rich man's table, so Johannes Climacus, who passionately denies that he has any contributions whatsoever to make to the grand Hegelian System, claims to be content with mere philosophical crumbs. For some reason, no publisher or translator has been willing to employ the more accurate if less palatable PHILOSOPHICAL CRUMBS.
Johannes Climacus presents the heart of the conflict between Hegel and Christianity in the first chapter. In Hegelian thought, Jesus in essence is viewed as the non-unique Son of God, and sees him as important for his teachings and the example for others for a transition to all people potentially becoming children of God. The emphasis is on the teachings, and the "truth" of Jesus can be construed as that which he taught. Kierkegaard thinks this is profoundly mistaken, and tries to get at the problem by a thought project that opens the book. Kierkegaard contrasts two kinds of teacher. One is the kind of teacher found in Socrates, where he is able to assist others in learning things because they already had the capacity to learn them. In the case of the Socratic teacher, the individual instructor is not essential to learning the truth. But Kierkegaard asks us to consider a second kind of teacher, one who not merely teaches us the truth, but provides the conditions for making such learning possible. This second kind of teacher is essential to someone learning the Truth, and it is this kind of teacher that Kierkegaard sees as representing Christ. The problem, as Kierkegaard understands it, is that we are separated from God by sin, and therefore we are in a position of needing to be restored to a relationship with God before coming to know God. Jesus is therefore not an accidental teacher of truths of a divine nature, but himself the essential foundation for anyone wanting to come to know God. In other words, for Kierkegaard, Christianity is an event and not a set of teachings: the incarnation of God in Christ as opposed to the things he wanted to teach us.
The remainder of the book explicates this essential distinction between the Christ of Christianity and the Jesus of Hegel. In particular, he deals with the question of the "disciple at second hand" versus the "contemporary disciple." This is essential to consider because while Hegel is thought to take history seriously, his Jesus becomes nonhistorical, while Kierkegaard is intent on emphasizing his historicity.
This is essential Kierkegaard, and along with the CONCLUDING UNSCIENTIFIC POSTSCRIPT and THE SICKNESS UNTO DEATH, my own favorites among his writings. One cannot understand Kierkegaard's thought without reading this book, and along with its sequel represents the heart of what he was trying to achieve in what he called his "Authorship."

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Simply Swedish Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a beautiful and peculiar book, with lovely photographs and compelling text. In a cookbook? That's right. There is a narrative tour around Sweden throughout this book, describing the beautiful landscapes, the interesting (often quite odd) people and the 'story' of many Swedish foods and traditions.
The food photographs are remarkable as well, for their vibrant colors and peculiarly shallow 'depth of field' focus. There are arresting landscape photographs also, which convey an eerie mood of Scandinavian-ness. Waterfalls flowing out of low clouds, ice-carved mountains, still lakes with mist rising. Very arboreal.
From the introduction: "Sweden has long and beautiful coastlines, but if you ask Swedes about their country most will describe it as a place of forests." This is the paradox that these authors tour us through in their lovely book.
As for the food, fish and potatoes are dominant, but many, many interesting flavors appear as well.
The text has been translated from Swedish so it can read a bit oddly, though that may have changed in later updates. I hope not because the occasional language oddity only makes the strangeness that much more unique and authentic.

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Meatballs, cream buns, fresh berries, pike and chutney. Traditional dishes are varied with more modern ones in a simple appetizing way. Simply Swedish is an innovative book with the emphasis on our fantastic Swedish produce as the main ingredients.

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