52 pages • 1 hour read
Concluding Unscientific Postscript
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Book 2, Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 2: “The Subjective Problem,” Part 1: “Something About Lessing”
Book 2, Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis: “An Expression of Gratitude”
This chapter is something of a digression, although related to the larger themes of the book. Kierkegaard declares his admiration for the German Enlightenment philosopher Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781). For Kierkegaard, Lessing possessed a “religious sensibility” that allowed him to recognize the religious as a distinct category. He knew the secret of subjectivity and how to “withdraw himself” and engage in independent thinking instead of codifying his thought into a system filled with jargon and catchwords. Unfortunately, Lessing’s works have been “left behind” by the progress of systematic philosophy, which Kierkegaard likens to a speeding train (a brand-new technology at the time Kierkegaard was writing).
Kierkegaard brings Lessing into the argument as a past thinker who exemplifies a proper understanding of the religious, in contrast to many thinkers of Kierkegaard’s day. He will continue to expound Lessing’s thought in the ensuing chapter.
Book 2, Part 1, Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis: “Theses Possibly or Actually Attributable to Lessing”
Kierkegaard lists and discusses propositions attributable to Lessing that are relevant to the argument of the Postscript.
1. The objective thinker treats truth as abstract and indifferent to the existence of thinking individuals. The subjective thinker, by contrast, is aware of themself as a thinking subject and concentrates on building an inward life. Subjective thought respects the differences between people, and the subjective thinker does not seek disciples or adulation. Subjective thought is essentially a form of communication, but an indirect communication that retains a certain secrecy and mystery. Thus, it is not dogmatic.
2. The subjective thinker is “constantly in a process of becoming” or “striving” (74). They treat their life as a work in progress, not a closed book or system. They are aware that the negative reveals truth as much as the positive. Humor is an essential component of their attitude toward reality; they realize that the comic and the pathetic both exist in life and throw light upon each other.
3. Historical truths can never serve as proofs for eternal truths. Thus, Kierkegaard rejects the idea that one can decide to be a Christian based solely on the reliability of the historical accounts of Jesus’s life, for example.
4. It is better to pursue truth than to possess it; only God truly possesses truth, and we cannot pretend to be God. Objective thought claims to be able to grasp truth directly; the subjective thinker is realistic in realizing that we have human limitations—such as the limitation of being individual human persons instead of a collective. Systematic philosophers cannot claim to speak for humanity as a whole. There will never be a completed system of thought that perfectly expresses every truth; we must occupy ourselves with existing and striving for the truth in humility.
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