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Single Idea 20312

[filed under theme 28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / d. Religious Experience ]

Full Idea

Choosing the objective way enters upon the entire approximation-process by which it is proposed to bring God to light objectively. But this is in all eternity impossible, because God is a subject, and therefore exist only for subjectivity in inwardness.

Gist of Idea

God cannot be demonstrated objectively, because God is a subject, only existing inwardly

Source

Søren Kierkegaard (Concluding Unscientific Postscript [1846])

Book Ref

'Existentialism', ed/tr. Solomon,Robert C. [Modern Library 1974], p.18


A Reaction

[pg in 711] This seems to have something like Wittgenstein's problem with a private language - that with no external peer-review it is unclear what the commitment is.


The 47 ideas from Søren Kierkegaard

When we seek our own 'freedom' we are just trying to avoid responsibility [Kierkegaard]
Anxiety is not a passing mood, but a response to human freedom [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
Socrates neglects the gap between knowing what is good and doing good [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
The ultimate in life is learning to be anxious in the right way [Kierkegaard]
Ultimate knowledge is being anxious in the right way [Kierkegaard]
Anxiety is staring into the yawning abyss of freedom [Kierkegaard]
Reason is just abstractions, so our essence needs a subjective 'leap of faith' [Kierkegaard, by Scruton]
There are aesthetic, ethical and religious subjectivity [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
Kierkegaard prioritises the inward individual, rather than community [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
Traditional views of truth are tautologies, and truth is empty without a subject [Kierkegaard, by Scruton]
Philosophy fails to articulate the continual becoming of existence [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
Faith is like a dancer's leap, going up to God, but also back to earth [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
For me time stands still, and I with it [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
What matters is not right choice, but energy, earnestness and pathos in the choosing [Kierkegaard]
The plebeians bore others; only the nobility bore themselves [Kierkegaard]
Either Abraham rises higher than universal ethics, or he is a mere murderer [Kierkegaard]
Abraham was willing to suspend ethics, for a higher idea [Kierkegaard]
Philosophy can't be unbiased if it ignores language, as that is no more independent than individuals are [Kierkegaard]
Our destiny is the highest pitch of world-weariness [Kierkegaard]
The best way to be a Christian is without 'Christianity' [Kierkegaard]
If people marry just because they are lonely, that is self-love, not love [Kierkegaard]
Fixed ideas should be tackled aggressively [Kierkegaard]
Life may be understood backwards, but it has to be lived forwards [Kierkegaard]
We need to see that Christianity cannot be understood [Kierkegaard]
I assume existence, rather than reasoning towards it [Kierkegaard]
Nothing necessary can come into existence, since it already 'is' [Kierkegaard]
Subjective truth can only be sustained by repetition [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
Life is a repetition when what has been now becomes [Kierkegaard]
The self is a combination of pairs of attributes: freedom/necessity, infinite/finite, temporal/eternal [Kierkegaard]
I recognise knowledge, but it is the truth by which I can live and die that really matters [Kierkegaard]
Kierkegaard's truth draws on authenticity, fidelity and honesty [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
The highest truth we can get is uncertainty held fast by an inward passion [Kierkegaard]
People want to lose themselves in movements and history, instead of being individuals [Kierkegaard]
God cannot be demonstrated objectively, because God is a subject, only existing inwardly [Kierkegaard]
I conceived it my task to create difficulties everywhere [Kierkegaard]
Without risk there is no faith [Kierkegaard]
Pantheism destroys the distinction between good and evil [Kierkegaard]
While big metaphysics is complete without ethics, personal philosophy emphasises ethics [Kierkegaard]
Speculative philosophy loses the individual in a vast vision of humanity [Kierkegaard]
Pure truth is for infinite beings only; I prefer endless striving for truth [Kierkegaard]
The real subject is ethical, not cognitive [Kierkegaard]
Wherever there is painless contradiction there is also comedy [Kierkegaard]
Becoming what one is is a huge difficulty, because we strongly aspire to be something else [Kierkegaard]
Faith is the highest passion in the sphere of human subjectivity [Kierkegaard]
God does not think or exist; God creates, and is eternal [Kierkegaard]
The most important aspect of a human being is not reason, but passion [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle]
Perfect love is not in spite of imperfections; the imperfections must be loved as well [Kierkegaard]