Søren Kierkegaard’s most famous work, Fear and Trembling, has the distinction of drawing near-universal derision from scholars of political theory and ethics. Dr. Dinan suggests that Kierkegaard’s readers haven’t accounted for his return to Socratic political philosophy as a direct riposte to the politics of G.W.F. Hegel and his successors. He considers the implications of Kierkegaard’s use of the ‘questionable stratagem’ of Socratic irony in relation to politics, ethics, Christian faith, and philosophy. Kierkegaard is concerned not with destroying political philosophy, but with restoring its attentiveness to paradox.
Dr. Matt Dinan, Assistant Professor, St. Thomas University
Philosophical Linguistics and Linguistical Philosophy (PhLiP) 8 will take place November 9-12, 2023 at the Tarrytown Estate in Westchester, NY.
Program Committee
Kai von Fintel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Chris Kennedy, University of Chicago
Karen Lewis, Barnard College/Columbia University
Una Stojnić, Princeton University