What is the self? For K. we are a tension between opposites: necessity and possibility, the finite and the infinite, soul and body. He thinks we're all in despair, whether we know it or not, because we wrongly think we're something we're not, or we reject what we are, or we just don't pay attention to this dynamic at all: we just go along with the crowd. So we need to keep self-examining and (he thinks) ultimately embrace our subservience to God. Given all this, is there anything one can get out of the text if you don't subscribe to K's Christianity? We're releasing this re-issue as a coda to our recent series on K. Get the rest of our paywalled, vintage episodes at partiallyexaminedlife.com/support, along with a steady stream of new bonus content. Sponsor: Get a $1/month e-commerce trial at shopify.com/pel.