Kierkegaard and Dostoevsky: The Search of the Authentic Life and the Problem of Existential Entrapment

by Petr Vaskovic

Overview

The book brings together the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard with that of another prominent proto-existentialist thinker, Fyodor Dostoevsky. Asking the question: "What constitutes an authentic Christian life?", the book explores the answer given by both authors, which is that one should rid oneself of selfish inclinations and strive for a life of faith that revolves around the virtues of humility and non-preferential love. However, as we learn from Dostoevsky and Kierkegaard, becoming an authentic individual is no easy task, and the book goes on to examine the obstacles that lie in the path of individual existential self-development.

The book then examines the ways in which the various characters and pseudonymous authors who populate Dostoevsky's and Kierkegaard's books struggle in their attempts to become authentic ethical and religious individuals. The examination of this struggle, termed existential entrapment and defined as the inability to progress on the path of one's existential self-development, forms the core of the book and helps to map out the ethical-religious landscape of Dostoevsky’s and Kierkegaard’s thought.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783111591230
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	10/21/2024
Series:	Kierkegaard Studies. Monograph Series , #51
Pages:	283
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.03(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Petr Vaškovic, Palacký Universityät, Olomouc, Tschechien.

Petr Vaškovic, Palacký UniversityOlomouc, Czech Republic.