Conceptual fear. A fatal illness

Author: (Dan) Kierkegaard, translated by Jingbut
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Danish philosopher S?ren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) criticized Hegel and Western traditional philosophy, as well as Christian ethics, which led to a crisis in European intellectual circles. Kierkegaard once succinctly summarized his theoretical claims: "My existence must be experienced; it must be real; thinking and existence are different; existence is a form of action, not a form of thought, and it is a form of action that must be related to thought. This thought related to action is 'subjective thought,' 'truth is subjective,' 'existence is the discovery of subjective truth' (D. Palmer, An Introduction to Kierkegaard), Kierkegaard's claims established an important philosophical thought that influenced human society and history—"existentialist truth." His masterpiece, The Scientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments (1846), was regarded by European philosophers as the "Bible of existentialism." Kierkegaard was thus recognized as a bridge from Hegel to existentialism and the founder of the existentialist philosophical school. Under his influence, his disciple Jean-Paul Sartre also became a master of existentialist philosophy. The Concept of Anxiety is an important component and fundamental proposition of Kierkegaard's "subjective truth." Kierkegaard's theory of "subjective consciousness" directly arose from his concept of "anxiety." Therefore, the book is a must-read for exploring the depths of Kierkegaard's existentialist philosophical thought. The Concept of Anxiety is written under the pseudonym Vigilius Haufniensis and published in 1844. Kierkegaard's original intention was to think about the Christian concept of original sin from a psychological perspective and to criticize Christian ethics. As a result, academia once regarded The Concept as a psychological work (see George Brand's letter to Nietzsche, 1881). In fact, this was a misinterpretation. Fear was just one of the "reflective" objects chosen by the author. That is, through the metaphysical interpretation of the fear phenomenon in psychological pathology, the individual should be demonstrated how to believe in and cognize truth through freedom. His initial purpose was to criticize Christian interpretations of "sin" and "guilt" by using the psychological process of human cognition of truth. Therefore, it is not denied that Kierkegaard's reflection on the concept of fear has psychological significance, as he acknowledges, "Fear is a quality of the dreaming spirit, and in itself it belongs to the realm of psychology" (This book, p. 62). If, the reflection on fear only remains at the psychological level, its meaning is only directed towards theological dogmatics, that is, to examine the concept of "sin" from the qualitative nature and causes of the fear concept. Kierkegaard was very clear about this point. The psychological state is "to discover a fear," and its examination results can only reflect the "tolerance of fear for sin" (p. 21), and cannot complete the critique of Christian ethics. For this reason, Kierkegaard had to give a new definition and consideration to "fear." In critiquing Hegel's statement about "sin," Kierkegaard discovered a cognitive logical relationship between "sin" and "anxiety": "the fall of sin is not an occurrence caused by the subject of consciousness due to some necessity, but rather a sin committed by humans within the 'possibility of freedom'; the 'possibility of freedom' manifests in the individual as 'anxiety' (p. 35)." For example, Adam's eating of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, being tempted, and committing sexual misconduct is an act of possibility; when he realizes that his behavior is sinful, fear arises. The cognitive relationship between sin and anxiety confirms that as a subject of consciousness, humans cannot "escape anxiety," "anxiety is a form of ignorance determined by the spirit" (p. 66). Kierkegaard's reflections and the discovery of cognitive logic then elevated the consideration of the "anxiety" concept from psychological qualification to the philosophical ontological level. The interpretation of the "anxiety" concept also became one of the most important philosophical propositions of existentialism. The origin of the anxiety concept is "sin." This is a presupposition of Kierkegaard's existentialist philosophy in epistemology. This presupposition is expressed through the story of Adam. Adam and Eve's eating of the forbidden fruit gives rise to lustful impulses, and "sin" becomes the reality of their sexual behavior. Throughout history, human beings have regarded sexual impulses as "guilty," and the individual has produced a yearning for their own state of being, which is the origin of "anxiety." The "sin" of the individual and the "transmitted sin" of the collective in history manifest a "possibility of anxiety." Sin enters anxiety, and sin carries anxiety with it. Kierkegaard's use of the Bible as a metaphor has a dual meaning. First, the Christian "original sin" is not entirely outside the realm of psychology; it can become an interface for psychological pathology to explore the connection between psychological states and ethics. Second, anxiety is the "synthesis" of the human soul and body, and the starting point for understanding the connection between human behavior and human consciousness. This is also the thinking path that Kierkegaard took from psychological analysis to philosophical epistemological consideration. For this reason, Kierkegaard, through psychological analysis of the biblical doctrine of "sin," indirectly enters into philosophical reflection on the essence of fear. His expression of this reflection is: the individual, through their actions, sets the possibility of sin; while the individual's fear begins with the entry of sin into the world, starting the individual's cognitive process of the world and existence. This also means that Kierkegaard's expression reveals a thinking process of existentialist epistemology: when the individual is in a state of non-perfect existence, they often express a yearning, longing, or expectation to reveal themselves; when they feel unfamiliar with their state of existence, they create a "fear." Therefore, the individual cannot escape fear, and fear exists within themselves; to save themselves, they need to transcend fear and recognize themselves. To transcend fear, it is necessary to emphasize self-awareness, that is, the importance of the individual's spirit (or faith). This is the other philosophical meaning expressed by Kierkegaard through his analysis of the differences in fear. Kierkegaard distinguishes between subjective anxiety and objective anxiety. The former refers to the individual's state of being, while the latter refers to the reflection of the world (including the collective) on "guilt." The individual's understanding of the world is mainly expressed through the expression of subjective anxiety. To this, Kierkegaard explains as follows: subjective anxiety exists as a latent ideology and is closely related to the essence of the individual. When a person makes a willful choice, fear will become prominent in their consciousness. According to his interpretation, it can be understood that fear itself does not have an ultimate meaning. When people are in a subconscious state of fear, they must make a choice: either to keep fear in their inner world, enduring the pressure of fear and feeling unbearable torment, or to choose to transcend and enter the realm of freedom, to cognize the world from a higher spiritual level. The only thing that can truly achieve "transcendence" and eliminate fear is the spirit, or faith. Kierkegaard strongly emphasizes that "only faith can abandon fear without reservation" (p. 78). Taking it a step further, there is the difference in fear between men and women, which expresses the difference in the "synthesis" of the individual's spirit. When discussing subjective anxiety, Kierkegaard often gives examples of women being more fearful than men. This psychological phenomenon analyzes and demonstrates another fact: when facing fear, women appear more "weak." For example, an innocent girl will feel fear when a man stares at her with desire; conversely, a woman will only feel disgust when staring at a boy. The difference in fear awareness between women and men lies in the fact that men have a stronger "spiritual quality." When women choose between spirit and nature, they often choose nature, enduring the pressure of fear. Women's submission to fear is due to their rejection of "spirit" (faith), or a "spiritual absence," and the result is that the individual will "sink in fear" (p. 98). This analysis is also Kierkegaard's rebuttal. He explains that once a person loses faith or lacks a spirit, they cannot manifest self-awareness or transcend fear. Obviously, emphasizing the role of faith (including human will and spirit) in transcending fear confirms the origin of Kierkegaard's philosophical thought, that is, "existentialist truth" is "subjective truth." In elaborating the concept of fear, Kierkegaard also introduces the concept of the moment. Although fear exists in the moment, its philosophical meaning connects the past and the future. People's understanding of the psychological process of fear also highlights the subjective cognitive process of the individual toward existence and the world. In this way, Kierkegaard's reflection on the phenomenon of fear and the interpretation of subjective cognition of the world have a complete meaning. Philosophically speaking, the moment is a transitional category between movement and stillness, not in time. The transition from singularity to diversity, and from identity to difference, in philosophical ontology all have the concept of "moment." It includes the realm of history and the historically presupposed knowledge that exists in the "moment." Kierkegaard's use of the concept of "moment" is to understand the philosophical meaning of "fear" in "past existence" and "future existence." Kierkegaard says, "Fear is a moment in the life of the individual" (p. 123). The "future" of life is possible for time, and people's cognition connects "fear with the future." The "past" of life is the past misfortune that makes people fearful, and the past fear may "be repeated in the future." Here, Kierkegaard uses the fairy tale The Foolish Man Who Learned to Fear from the Brothers Grimm as a metaphor to express his thoughts: everyone must go through an adventure of "learning to fear," so that they will not lose themselves because of "never having feared" or "never having sunk into fear" (p. 233). The fear moment connects the past and the future, and it is the process that people should and must go through to cognize the world and existence. An individual who has experienced fear will learn how to examine themselves in the most vulnerable moment of humanity. Kierkegaard humorously says that humans can "fear," and "the deeper the fear, the greater the person." The concept of fear is one of the many survival concepts that Kierkegaard elaborates in existentialist philosophical theory. He defines "existence" as the spirit, and the spirit and the self are the same. One of his famous axioms is, "Man is spirit," and "spirit is the self." The core discourse of The Concept of Anxiety is "to be a person," and the purpose of being a person is to become "the self." The analysis of the fear concept lies in answering: what is the self? How to become the self? Without fear, there would be no self; by learning to fear, there is the possibility of gaining cognitive freedom. Fear, as an existence, people should find the self and save the self through faith. The Concept of Anxiety is regarded by European philosophers as a classic that discusses "the self" and explains how to "become the self." It is one of the most important philosophical works of the 19th century, as seen by Nietzsche (see Niels Thomsen, Misfortune and Happiness). The contemporary Danish philosopher Niels evaluates The Concept of Anxiety as an outstanding work that can be compared with Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. It established Kierkegaard's academic status in European philosophy. Sartre, even more, greatly admired his mentor, often being overwhelmed by his penetrating philosophical reflections. Sartre frankly shared his experience: "The title of the book The Concept of Anxiety is a paradox. 'Anxiety' is not a concept, but it is the non-conceptual foundation of all concepts." "It draws me to understand the self that is the source of all concepts."