David Wu

Chapter 5 Explanation
Kierkegaards ideas begin with the fall of Eden, the birthplace of consciousness. Humanity
begins as the lower creatures, simple and ignorant. However, when the apple is consumed, he becomes
aware of both the overwhelming terror of the world and the inevitability of his own death and decay.
This is what God means by surely die self-consciousness/knowledge of ones death, which leads to
humanitys greatest fear and anxiety. Next, humans utilize psychology to mitigate their anxiety. This
process requires the use of shut-upness, or in modern terms, repression. He or she uses character as
an armor to repress this anxiety by obstructing his or her own perceptions of reality. Ultimately, this is
necessary to feel secure and self-worth but leads to unfreedom. Humanity never experiences life
beyond the boundaries of its own armor. Essentially, he will operate within the boundaries he feels are
safe. However, there are a good and mistaken form of this repression/armor. Where good repression
allows a degree of ego-approved experience, mistaken repression shuts off the world completely. The
developments of the two are influenced heavily by parents and environmental factors. Often, humanity
becomes a slave to culture as a result of the repression. He accepts the triviality of this life, never
uncovering his true self to avoid the overwhelming experience of reality.
Next, through the dualist, paradoxical nature of humanitys symbolic halfs struggle to achieve
freedom from bodys physical constraints, the manifestations of the imbalances between the two
halves, symbolic self and limited body, are explained as specific psychoses. Schizophrenia is the
extreme expression of the symbolic self breaking or splitting free from the body to attain freedom
(too much possibility) while depression is the extreme manifestation of accepting the finitude of the
body (too little possibility). The latter is seen partially in the man enslaved to culture who fears the
exposure and danger of seeking freedom via the self. Furthermore, to justify his depressive constraints,
man convinces himself he is unworthy. He surrenders himself to the constraints of life instead of
centering and rallying around his self. To avoid these extremes, man resorts to philistinism, or normal
neurosis. It requires the tranquilization of personal intensity to avoid the forceful perturbations of real
experience. However, there are others that do achieve a degree of self-realization. These people who
reflect on their interiors are introverts, who hold themselves a distance from the world that cannot
understand their humanities. He will secretly distinguish himself slightly superior from the common
man, but can find trouble in dealing with the conflict between this superiority and his real dependency
upon the world. Others passionately seek to master the world and themselves, revolting against their
bodily constraints, defying their impotence and fated death. However, this pursuit is thoughtless and
can lead to greater evils.
With the portrait of such a problematic existence, there still exists a truly healthy mind that is
outside of the habitual lies man tells himself. Kierkegaard proposes a solution for man to transcend
himself to attain a healthy mind. Man must dispel his entrapping armor of character that he built to
protect himself from the fear and anxiety of being an animal. Man must accept that despite his identity,
his consciousness, and his dreams, he is an animal who will die. This acceptance will inspire a profound
anxiety, but it is this anxiety that will allow man to grow. Essentially, man must absolve his cultural,
protective self to generate his true self, which at its core is the desire to become a hero of great
magnitude, a cosmic hero, and achieve ultimate meaning. To succeed, he must attain faith by seeking
a relationship with God, or more generally with the heart of creation, and absolving his earthly ties. This
does not eliminate anxiety or the dualistic nature of mans condition but it helps man develop and
achieve the greater goal of faith, which will ultimately lead to a world of infinite. To find ourselves, we
must destroy what we think are ourselves, the same entity which comforts and protects us. However, it
must be done with faith in creation/God. Overall, Kierkegaard paints the portrait of a problematic
existence to encourage the spread of religious faith as a solution.