ABSTRACT
Mark C. Taylor's book on the pseudonymous writings of Soren Kierkegaard focused on his understanding of the relation of time and self. Taylor's study builds on earlier studies of Kierkegaard and advances the discussion by its penetrating analysis of temporality and selfhood as given expression in each of Kierkegaard's stages of existence. Taylor enters creatively into Kierkegaard's Socratic dialogue, and his monograph's three parts deal with methodological concerns, the three stages of existence, and his critical responses. He argues that Kierkegaard's writings are coherent but limits that coherence-claim to the pseudonymous works. Concerning Kierkegaard's method, Taylor addresses why Kierkegaard employed pseudonyms and how this choice came to bear on his authorial intention and the structure of his authorship. Kierkegaard's self is identified as the dynamic activity of selfrelating, and the terms spirit, eternal, freedom, and self are regarded as equivalent. For Kierkegaard, Christianity's distinction resides in its doctrine of sin, which is known through God's revelations.
