ABSTRACT

The anthology by George Pattison and Steven Shakespeare is an excellent overview of Kierkegaard scholarship on sociality and politics. There are two kinds of Soren Kierkegaard scholars: those who side with him, building on what he says; and those who take his words and try to think them through, adopting a more critical stance. Both have value, especially when what is at stake, is something affecting everyone: how to live in society as individuals. Moreover, since all major pro-Kierkegaard approaches are represented, the book is a perfect overview of this kind of scholarship. It is the first anthology to deal with the "post-modern situation." The introduction seems to have these two claims mixed up, and most of the papers slip between them too. Stressing freedom and possibility can have a liberating effect in society; it need not go against other-relatedness, and Kierkegaard's style and play on authority can have a role in this.