Kierkegaard, Communication, and Virtue: Authorship as Edification

By Mark A. Tietjen

“Tietjen offers the kind of approach that encourages us to put the emphasis where it rightly belongs: on Kierkegaard’s philosophical ideas.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

In contrast to recent postmodern and deconstructionist readings, Mark A. Tietjen believes that the purpose behind Kierkegaard’s writings is the moral and religious improvement of the reader. Tietjen defends Kierkegaard against claims that certain features of his works, such as pseudonymity, indirect communication, irony, and satire are self-deceived or deceitful. Kierkegaard, Communication, and Virtue reveals how they are directly related to the virtues or moral issues being discussed. In fact, Tietjen argues, the manner of presentation is a critical element of the philosophical message being conveyed. Reading broadly in Kierkegaard’s writings, he develops a hermeneutics of trust that fully illustrates Kierkegaard’s aim to evoke faith in his reader.

“Tietjen’s critique of deconstructionist readings of Kierkegaard along with an emphasis on employing a hermeneutic of trust clearly distinguishes his work from other treatments of Kierkegaard as a virtue ethicist and edifying writer.” —Sylvia Walsh, Stetson University

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jun 12, 2013
• ISBN: 9780253008718

Mark A. Tietjen

Mark A. Tietjen (PhD, Baylor University) is chaplain and Grace Palmer Johnston Chair of Bible at The Stony Brook School in Stony Brook, New York. He previously served as associate professor and program director of philosophy at the University of West Georgia. Former secretary-treasurer of the Søren Kierkegaard Society, Tietjen is the author of Kierkegaard, Communication, and Virtue: Authorship as Edification and his articles have appeared in a variety of journals and books, including Faith and Philosophy, International Philosophical Quarterly and the Journal of Psychology and Christianity.