A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard is well-known as an original philosophical thinker, but less known is his reliance upon and development of the Christian tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, in particular the vice of <i>acedia</i>, or sloth. As <i>acedia</i> has enjoyed renewed inte...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/2/80 |
| _version_ | 1818240764923084800 |
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| author | Jared Brandt Brandon Dahm Derek McAllister |
| author_facet | Jared Brandt Brandon Dahm Derek McAllister |
| author_sort | Jared Brandt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Søren Kierkegaard is well-known as an original philosophical thinker, but less known is his reliance upon and development of the Christian tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, in particular the vice of <i>acedia</i>, or sloth. As <i>acedia</i> has enjoyed renewed interest in the past century or so, commentators have attempted to pin down one or another Kierkegaardian concept (e.g., despair, heavy-mindedness, boredom, etc.) as the embodiment of the vice, but these attempts have yet to achieve any consensus. In our estimation, the complicated reality is that, in using slightly different but related concepts, Kierkegaard is providing a unique look at <i>acedia</i> as it manifests differently at different stages on life’s way. Thus, on this “perspectival account”, <i>acedia</i> will manifest differently according to whether an individual inhabits the aesthetic, ethical, or religious sphere. We propose two axes for this perspectival account. Such descriptions of how <i>acedia</i> manifests make up the first, phenomenal axis, while the second, evaluative axis, accounts for the various bits of advice and wisdom we read in the diagnoses of <i>acedia</i> from one Kierkegaardian pseudonym to another. Our aim is to show that Kierkegaard was not only familiar with the concept of <i>acedia</i>, but his contributions helped to develop and extend the tradition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T13:18:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d14c6f3e0dd644599d3646d1ffcf2b36 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T13:18:38Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-d14c6f3e0dd644599d3646d1ffcf2b362022-12-22T00:23:22ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442020-02-011128010.3390/rel11020080rel11020080A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of KierkegaardJared Brandt0Brandon Dahm1Derek McAllister2Department of Philosophy, Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, TX 75211, USADepartment of Philosophy, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, OH 43952, USADepartment of Philosophy, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USASøren Kierkegaard is well-known as an original philosophical thinker, but less known is his reliance upon and development of the Christian tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins, in particular the vice of <i>acedia</i>, or sloth. As <i>acedia</i> has enjoyed renewed interest in the past century or so, commentators have attempted to pin down one or another Kierkegaardian concept (e.g., despair, heavy-mindedness, boredom, etc.) as the embodiment of the vice, but these attempts have yet to achieve any consensus. In our estimation, the complicated reality is that, in using slightly different but related concepts, Kierkegaard is providing a unique look at <i>acedia</i> as it manifests differently at different stages on life’s way. Thus, on this “perspectival account”, <i>acedia</i> will manifest differently according to whether an individual inhabits the aesthetic, ethical, or religious sphere. We propose two axes for this perspectival account. Such descriptions of how <i>acedia</i> manifests make up the first, phenomenal axis, while the second, evaluative axis, accounts for the various bits of advice and wisdom we read in the diagnoses of <i>acedia</i> from one Kierkegaardian pseudonym to another. Our aim is to show that Kierkegaard was not only familiar with the concept of <i>acedia</i>, but his contributions helped to develop and extend the tradition.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/2/80<i>acedia</i>slothdeadly sinskierkegaarddespairboredomaestheticethicalreligiousimmediacy |
| spellingShingle | Jared Brandt Brandon Dahm Derek McAllister A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of Kierkegaard Religions <i>acedia</i> sloth deadly sins kierkegaard despair boredom aesthetic ethical religious immediacy |
| title | A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of Kierkegaard |
| title_full | A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of Kierkegaard |
| title_fullStr | A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of Kierkegaard |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of Kierkegaard |
| title_short | A Perspectival Account of <i>Acedia</i> in the Writings of Kierkegaard |
| title_sort | perspectival account of i acedia i in the writings of kierkegaard |
| topic | <i>acedia</i> sloth deadly sins kierkegaard despair boredom aesthetic ethical religious immediacy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/2/80 |
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