JACK MULDER, JR. HOPE COLLEGE
KNOWLEDGE, VIRTUE, AND ONTOTHEOLOGY: A KIERKEGAARDIAN (SELF-)CRITIQUE
INTRODUCTION
I
n his late journals of 1854-1855,1 Søren Kierkegaard argues at some length that faith has “not an intellectual character but an ethical character.2 He juxtaposes this with the “Platonic-Aristotelian definition,” alternatively the “whole Greek philosophical pagan definition” of faith as pistis, or that portion of the divided line in book 6 of Plato’s Republic that still aspires to higher and better knowledge.3 He faults St. Augustine and “the Alexandrians” (probably St. Clement and maybe Origen) for this, and he relies partly on Romans 1:5 where St. Paul invokes the “obedience of faith” as evidence that faith is an ethical state, since it is not merely a second-rate epistemic category but requires obedience in ways that epistemic categories, it seems, cannot. This has deep implications for the tradition in continental philosophy that follows, and in this paper I want to explore some ways that Kierkegaard’s own account of these things, and at times, that of others, can be subjected to an important critique coming from the virtue tradition. Before beginning my brief paper, it may be worth mentioning that my own concerns in it stem from the continental tradition in philosophy, but I also have training in and deep exposure to the analytic tradition in philosophy. Both traditions have vices and virtues. Analytic philosophers are proud of rigor and clarity, at which they sometimes succeed. But sometimes they rely overmuch on symbolism when ordinary language arguments communicate at least as clearly. Continental philosophers usually see themselves within a long philosophical 1 Below I list the abbreviations I use when referencing Kierkegaard’s works: Concluding
Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, 2 vols. (vol. 1, CUP), ed. and trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991); Kierkegaard’s Journals and Notebooks (KJN, with volume and page number), vols. 1-11, ed. by Niels Jørgen Cappelørn, Alastair Hannay, David Kangas, Bruce H. Kirmmse, George Pattison, Vanessa Rumble and K. Brian Söderquist (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press 2007-); The Sickness unto Death (SUD), trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980); Søren Kierkegaard’s Journals and Papers, 7 vols. (JP, plus volume and entry number), ed. and trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong with Gregor Malantschuk (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967); Søren Kierkegaards Skrifter, vols. 1-55 (SKS, with volume, page number, notebook, and entry number), ed. by Niels Jørgen Cappelørn, Joakim Garff, Johnny Kondrup, et al. (Copenhagen: Søren Kierkegaard Research Centre and G.E.C. Gads Forlag 1997ff.); Without Authority (WA), ed. and trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997); Works of Love (WL), ed. and trans. Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995). 2 SKS 26, 616 / Papir 486 / JP 2, 1154. 3 SKS 25, 432-434 / NB30:57 / JP 1, 180.
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