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Full Idea
Being an individual man is a thing that has been abolished, and every speculative philosopher confuses himself with humanity at large, whereby he becomes infinitely great - and at the same time nothing at all.
Gist of Idea
Speculative philosophy loses the individual in a vast vision of humanity
Source
Søren Kierkegaard (Concluding Unscientific Postscript [1846], 'Lessing')
Book Ref
Kierkegaard,Søren: 'A Kierkegaard Anthology', ed/tr. Bretall,Robert [Princeton 1946], p.206
A Reaction
Compare Idea 4840. This is a beautiful statement of the motivation for existentialism. The sort of philosophers who love mathematics (Plato, Descartes, Leibniz, Russell) love losing themselves in abstractions. This is the rebellion.
Related Idea
Idea 4840 Reason perceives things under a certain form of eternity [Spinoza]
| 22092 | Kierkegaard's truth draws on authenticity, fidelity and honesty [Kierkegaard, by Carlisle] |
| 20313 | The highest truth we can get is uncertainty held fast by an inward passion [Kierkegaard] |
| 20314 | People want to lose themselves in movements and history, instead of being individuals [Kierkegaard] |
| 20312 | God cannot be demonstrated objectively, because God is a subject, only existing inwardly [Kierkegaard] |
| 7578 | I conceived it my task to create difficulties everywhere [Kierkegaard] |
| 7584 | Without risk there is no faith [Kierkegaard] |
| 7580 | Pantheism destroys the distinction between good and evil [Kierkegaard] |
| 7579 | While big metaphysics is complete without ethics, personal philosophy emphasises ethics [Kierkegaard] |
| 7581 | Speculative philosophy loses the individual in a vast vision of humanity [Kierkegaard] |
| 15999 | Pure truth is for infinite beings only; I prefer endless striving for truth [Kierkegaard] |
| 20742 | The real subject is ethical, not cognitive [Kierkegaard] |
| 22047 | Wherever there is painless contradiction there is also comedy [Kierkegaard] |
| 7582 | Becoming what one is is a huge difficulty, because we strongly aspire to be something else [Kierkegaard] |
| 7583 | Faith is the highest passion in the sphere of human subjectivity [Kierkegaard] |
| 7586 | God does not think or exist; God creates, and is eternal [Kierkegaard] |