ABSTRACT
Karstein Hopland's 1981 doctoral dissertation is a bold and ambitious work, and the first study in Norwegian to engage seriously with Kierkegaard's thought after the long hiatus imposed by the influence of Næssian positivism. Hopland's main thesis is that Kierkegaard, throughout his works, develops a substantive and coherent philosophical anthropology and that this anthropology is of independent theoretical value. In spite of this constructive program, Hopland's dissertation is first and foremost a critical work. The central notions in Hopland's analysis are corporeality and reflection. Hopland is not particularly interested in the specifically religious dimensions of Kierkegaard's thought. Since his main concern is to unearth the similarities and points of contact between Kierkegaard's thought and German idealism, his focus is rather on the ethical and pre-reflective forms of selfhood found in Adam, Mozart's Papageno, and Judge William. Hopland's critical discussions will inevitably seem dated to the contemporary scholar.
