ABSTRACT
Dream-interpretation, animal magnetism, somnambulism, and clairvoyance—the scientist and physician Gotthilf Heinrich Schubert (1780–1860) caused some sensation among the writers of the late Romantic period in Germany with these themes. While Schubert’s impact on the Romantics—especially on E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822)—has long been acknowledged in the field of literary studies, 1 the name Schubert seems to be largely unknown to Kierkegaard research. Even though only a few direct references to Schubert can be discerned in Kierkegaard’s writings, these references shed some light on an important process of clarification regarding Kierkegaard’s understanding of nature. Initially, Kierkegaard was interested in Schubert’s concept of an “irony of nature” in connection with the development of his own understanding of irony. In this context, Kierkegaard engages in reflections of a fundamental kind on the relationship between nature and consciousness. These considerations become significant in Kierkegaard’s understanding of sin in particular. The ambivalence in Kierkegaard’s doctrine of sin is based on the fact that his general understanding of sin as a product of freedom runs counter to the experience of confrontations with destiny that characterize finite human nature. The latter aspect, which anticipates the question of the unconscious, can be understood against the background of Kierkegaard’s perusal of Schubert.
