Alterity in the Writings of Søren Kierkegaard
by LEO STAN

In the past decade, Søren Kierkegaard's name appeared (whether critically or apologetically) in connection with the postmodern or phenomenological attempts at coming to terms with the intricate philosophical issue of otherness. However, when looked upon panoramically, the interpretations of Kierkegaard on this trope are neither consistent with one another, nor faithful to Kierkegaard's authorship as a whole. Hence, the need for a holistic, albeit particularizing, account of the complexity of Søren Kierkegaard's heterology, which the present volume attempts to frontally address. Specifically, this study unearths and expands on three Kierkegaardian senses of otherness: the infinite alterity of God, the paradoxical alterity of Christ, and the relative alterity of the human other. After thematizing in detail each component of this heterological triad, close attention will be paid to their interrelation. The principal claim is that, as informed (explicitly or implicitly) by the fundamentals of the Christian religion, Kierkegaardian alterity can be properly understood solely within a soteriological framework and only starting from the inward existence of every singular person. Given that, on  Kierkegaard's evaluation, the human self is always, already, and primarily other-related, the argument aims to show that this otherness is construed through an open appropriation of the Christian teaching on God, human creatureliness, sin and the consequent need for redemption through the God-man. The book's approach can thus be placed at the intersection of ethics, theology, and  philosophical psychology. The author also engages in a critical manner with the extant scholarship on the topic, hoping to bring into the debate a novel and comprehensive analysis of alterity in light of the central significance of sinfulness and its cardinal effects on one's stance towards God, Christ, and others. Therefore, the major indictments against Kierkegaard, especially those concerning his understanding of the individual's rapports with the human other, will be addressed in this very perspective.
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