The Great Leap of Faith
Since Easter is coming up, I decided i'd take a look at religion and my personal faith once again. Having read Waiting for Godot, and also taken a particular interest in existentialist philosophy as well as the theartre of the absurd, i thought i might look at it from the point of view of the famous Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
as i search for meaning in life, it becomes apparent to me that a meaningful existence is of utmost importance. and meaning comes from whether people sense that thier lives have a permanent significance. the problem here though, is that many people believe that their lives only have temporary importance.
Kierkegaard identified three stages of personal development: the Aesthetic [artistic], the Ethical [dutiful], and lastly, the Religious stage.
Pleasure and enjoyment. Material needs. these come under the Aesthetic stage. But to me, these concerns are but temporary. according to kierkegaard, devoting your life to art and aesthetics will eventually leave you feeling despair. Despair coz of our own impermanence and insignificance. almost seems like a 'kiasi' to me.
However, when you begin to take up ethical responsibility, you begin to introduce a sense of permanence to your life. this could mean, just being a loving and caring brother or a faithful husband. this sense of permanence though is only partial and creates conflict in oneself and eventually leads to despair once again.
This is somewhat like Hegel's dialectic, the difference being that Hegel believed in a historical process, whereas my point here, is that it's much more personal than that. All the conflict and despair can compel you to take a leap of faith into the third stage of personal development, into a religious existence. This religious commitment may not have many rational reasons but this is exactly why it requires a leap of faith.
I've repeated to some of my friends some Kantian thought. Simple but something i believe in. The existence of God can never be empirically, scientifically proved. That just leaves room for FAITH.
Have Faith in God my friends. and Happy Easter to all of you. Remember the empty tomb coz Jesus Lives Again!
Since Easter is coming up, I decided i'd take a look at religion and my personal faith once again. Having read Waiting for Godot, and also taken a particular interest in existentialist philosophy as well as the theartre of the absurd, i thought i might look at it from the point of view of the famous Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.
as i search for meaning in life, it becomes apparent to me that a meaningful existence is of utmost importance. and meaning comes from whether people sense that thier lives have a permanent significance. the problem here though, is that many people believe that their lives only have temporary importance.
Kierkegaard identified three stages of personal development: the Aesthetic [artistic], the Ethical [dutiful], and lastly, the Religious stage.
Pleasure and enjoyment. Material needs. these come under the Aesthetic stage. But to me, these concerns are but temporary. according to kierkegaard, devoting your life to art and aesthetics will eventually leave you feeling despair. Despair coz of our own impermanence and insignificance. almost seems like a 'kiasi' to me.
However, when you begin to take up ethical responsibility, you begin to introduce a sense of permanence to your life. this could mean, just being a loving and caring brother or a faithful husband. this sense of permanence though is only partial and creates conflict in oneself and eventually leads to despair once again.
This is somewhat like Hegel's dialectic, the difference being that Hegel believed in a historical process, whereas my point here, is that it's much more personal than that. All the conflict and despair can compel you to take a leap of faith into the third stage of personal development, into a religious existence. This religious commitment may not have many rational reasons but this is exactly why it requires a leap of faith.
I've repeated to some of my friends some Kantian thought. Simple but something i believe in. The existence of God can never be empirically, scientifically proved. That just leaves room for FAITH.
Have Faith in God my friends. and Happy Easter to all of you. Remember the empty tomb coz Jesus Lives Again!
posted by Matthew Lee at
9:16:00 PM
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