Author Archive
This seems too much like the philosophy of the current administration, doesn’t it? Very scary…
Another Calvin & Hobbes from uComics.com.
If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it? – Steven Wright
Soren Kierkegaard / Johannes Climacus
In another life it seems, I majored in philosophy as an undergrad. In particular. I was drawn to 19th and 20th century continental existential and phenomenological thinkers. While there are many notable philosophers here, for me, Soren Kierkegaard stands out.
Before going further, let me note that I will make no claim to any great depth of philosophical study. In the course of my undergraduate work, rarely did we read texts cover-to-cover. Instead, we would read fragments, chapters or segments that would bring up key points, and then we would explore those thoughts.
I bring up Kierkegaard at this time for a couple of reasons: first for his use of pseudonymous authorship, and second for his rigorous pursuit of a self-defined authenticity toward his understanding of his own identity. Most scholars view each pseudonym to have a unique voice. Further, most do not believe that the aggregation of pseudonymous views could be compiled somehow to arrive at Kierkegaard’s personal views.
Regarding authenticity, Kierkegaard was a Christian who didn’t want his identity as Christian to be defined by church authorities with whom he disagreed. This desire went so far that he famously declared that he did not want to be buried in a church cemetery.
Johannes Climacus was the pseudonymous name Kierkegaard used in one of the texts I studied. As I recall from my studies of so long ago, Kierkegaard admonished others that his was a personal journey and we should not follow him. While I admire and would like to emulate the style, I do not want to duplicate his steps or reinterpret the meaning of his work for eternity. It evolves with the changing relationship of author and reader to the work over time through different experiences.
To represent personal changes in authorship perspectives, I will sometimes use the handle Impossible Dreamer, and other times J.C., in deference to Kierkegaard. Though I have a notion what each will represent, I expect that may also change over time.
J.C.
