To take the example given by Kierkegaard, while the knight of infinite resignation no longer expects to get the princess in whom he is in love but transfigures his passion in an otherworldly way , the knight of faith stills thinks it would be wonderful to get the princess and believes he will get her, by faith, by virtue of the absurd.
Why does Kierkegaard think that the knight of faith is the highest human life? Is it because the knight of faith can both renounce the earthly joys and yet taste them with unparalleled delight, free from the "timorous, anxious routine" characteristic of the slaves of the finite and even, to some small extent, of the knight of infinite resignation?
Is the knight of faith the highest human possibility because he can, however paradoxically or absurdly, have his cake and eat it, too?
But is getting everything, is having it all, really noble? No, the knight of faith is not the greatest possible human being because he has it all? In fact, his life is extremely dreadful and terrifying. Is his life the noblest, then, because it is marked by the greatest seriousness, the most intense concentration and inner tension?
But these qualities are also true of the knight of infinite resignation. Might it be, then, that the life knight of faith is noblest because it is the most terrifying, the most sleepless, the steepest, the loneliest, the hardest, the freest from false solutions and comforts even such comforts as abstract duties or "ethics"?
Because it is the most honest and hence the most exposed and vulnerable life? But the knight of faith is also the most solid and the most happy, with both the finite and the infinite at his disposal. He is both the least secure and the most secure human being. How can that be? And even if we say that the dreadful side of the life of the knight of faith is the more important one, why should that make his life the highest or the noblest?
Does Kierkegaard's claim still lie vulnerable to Strauss's charge that the basic fallacy of faith is the belief in the importance of morality, in the importance of "highness" or nobility? Or does Kierkegaard's knight of faith elude all philosophical criticism by taking refuge in the paradoxical or the absurd? But if so, and if the nobility and goodness of the knight of faith is unintelligible, why isn't that life a "factum brutum," an oddity of no human importance?
No facile, false solutions for K. To be a believer, you have to have been a Socrates, which is a nearly impossible task to begin with. On pp. The issue for K. Because K. This appears to be true of both philosophic truths or as K. That is why both Strauss and Kierkegaard appear to have learned the best philosophical lessons from Lessing who, more than anyone else of his caliber, prevents his readers from becoming his students p. One has to be able to decide the most important life-and-death matter for oneself.
Lessing leaves open the possibility that if he sees the historical event with his own eyes, if he is a contemporary of that event, things might be different: he might then learn the truth from a historical event. So what does Lessing do instead? He then playfully says that he has tried often and earnestly to make the leap.
But K. Pure truth is indeed only for you alone. And that he already is. No wonder he is not interested in making any leaps. A one-page paper proposal with sample Version 1.
Note: In the current schedule, there is no class meeting on Nov. In the event that the H1N1 flu epidemic seriously disrupts our schedule, we may need to use this date for a class meeting. I hope to be able to determine what we will be doing as early as possible to allow you to make travel plans Note: Exceptional circumstances may require changes in this syllabus and revision of requirements and assignments.
Note: there should be no prior consultation among students on the essays that form the basis of class discussion. Late Policy Essays smust be submitted by 8 p. Late assignments will not be accepted. Extensions without late penalty will be granted only in exceptional circumstances e. Otherwise a full letter grade will be deducted from the grade for each 24 hours of lateness. With advance announcement, Version 1. Please note that the tricks or techniques listed in this pdf are either fictional or claimed to work by its creator.
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We do not guarantee that these techniques will work for you. DMCA and Copyright : The book is not hosted on our servers, to remove the file please contact the source url.
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