Sunday, September 3, 2017

Dialectic according to Kierkegaard - definition

Kierkegaard's view of the dialectic (a term of course inherited from Hegel) is that the spiritual world is not attainable through direct observation but only through the mediation of complex and opposing elements. Kierkegaard took the Hegelian view of dialectics that sees the spiritual progression of thesis, antithesis and synthesis. But Kierkegaard opposes Hegel in asserting that the elastic dialectic is limited and that some categories (such as good and bad) cannot be mediated. Another point in which Kierkegaard departs from Hegel on the matter of dialectic is that while Hegel spoke of a conceptual dialectic Kierkegaard speaks of an existential dialectic. This can be seen in Kierkegaard's concepts of choice and regret in which taking the personal responsibility of choosing an option always includes the regretful negation of another.