Typology of Despair = False

Typology of Despair = False

Typology of Despair = False

Despair is an unavoidable part of every self’s existence. As long as one has some level of self-reflection (meaning he is a self), he will encounter some level of self-consuming despair at some time during life. The 19th century philosopher Kierkegaard attempts to define levels of despair through one of his fictitious writers, Anti-Climacus. His Typology of Despair contains two major categories with subcategories in the latter. Basically, how heightened one’s consciousness is determines what category he is in at the time. However, Anti-Climacus provides a solution to this despair. He claims as long as a self humbles himself before God and truly focuses his existence on the eternal, he can conquer despair. Both Anti-Climacus’ system of despair and his supposed solution contain many problems that establish it as unconvincing. He makes a number of false assumptions and neglects true human subjectivity.
Anti-Climacus’ first form of despair is despair that is unconscious of itself as despair. People suffering from this form of despair according to Anti-Climacus do not have the ability to self-reflect or simply chooses not to. He claims that “their sensuous nature is generally predominant over their intellectuality” (345). They go through life according to the way they think they are suppose to, not the way they truly decide to through examination. Without any self-reflection and true consciousness, their lifestyle cannot be their true nature as a self; for one cannot have an understanding of the self if it is never reflected upon. One specific example of a man who suffers from this form of despair is Ivan Ilyich, who lives his life by the dictates of others. Rather than relying on his own reason and good sense to direct his moral life, Ivan blindly adopts the beliefs and values of aristocratic society. He models his life according to those who he thinks are “successful.” He takes on a wife and buys a beautiful home only...

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