Quest of the Spirit: From Suffering to Acceptance

55. Transformation! Facing Challenges:Kirkegaard's Either/Or

                                          The Ethics of Transformation in Kierkegaard's Either/Or

         "For although there is only situation in which either/or has absolute significance, namely, when truth, righteousness and holiness are lined up on one side, and lust and base propensities and obscure passions and perdition on the other; yet, it is always important to choose rightly, even as between things which one may innocently choose; it is important to test oneself, lest some day one might have to beat a painful retreat to the point from which one started, and might have reason to thank God if one had to reproach oneself for nothing worse than a waste of time" (Kierkegaard 161-162). This passage from Soren Kierkegaard's Either/Or suggests the importance in making appropriate ethical choices in life, to start from within oneself to find the truth in order to avoid incalculable errors which induce despair or compel one to start anew. The author compares life to a masquerade in which many people create an illusion of their inner selves so that others cannot recognize their true identities and "press importantly" upon them. It is always more convenient to hide behind the masks. In this case, man does not appear to possess an inner nature but rather a series of faces that vary according to circumstances. Nonetheless, as Kierkegaard observes, there is a "midnight hour" in which all men are called upon to shed the mask. The author's allusion to Faust proves appropriate because it was he who was called upon at midnight to surrender his soul to Mephistocles after making a pact with the devil who granted him supernatural ability in order for him to satisfy his own personal gratification. Ironically, there exist subjects who no longer can cast off their disguises, but live only for the day. Sadly, these individuals have "so long deceived others" that their inner core cannot manifests itself. In essence, their personalities have vanished, robbing them of all sense of purpose and spiritual potential (164). The author suggests that he cannot conceive "anything more frightful" than having one's nature "resolved into a multiplicity." Kierkegaard depicts the horror of the predicament with the simile of the unhappy demoniacs who, being many, were called Legion because they "had lost the inmost and holiest thing of all, the unifying power of personality" (164). In essence, the author contends that man's subsequent loss of identity produces a tragic sense of alienation, loneliness, and isolation that pervades nineteenth century Europe.

         Kierkegaard advocates what he terms "ethical choice" as the solution to man's existential dilemma (167). Action is implicit in the term, for the choice serves as an essential feature in the transformation of the personality. In contrast, denying the choice, by omission or commission, leads to the deterioration of the inner self (167-168). The concept of ethical choice, like repentance, requires the subject to alter his current selfish course of action in favor of a life of eternal service to God (220). This act of devotion, or spiritual obedience, denotes the significant phase of the subject's coming-of-age, religious conversion experience, or Jungian individuation. Before one decides to commit himself to this new approach to life, he must experience what the author terms "despair." The author holds that "every man who has not tasted the bitterness of despair has missed the significance of life, however beautiful and joyous his life might be" (216). As Blaise Pascal suggests, "The greatness of man is great in that he knows himself to be miserable. A tree does not know itself to be miserable. It is then being miserable to know oneself to be miserable; but it is also being great to know that one is miserable" (Pascal 130). In essence, experiencing despair awakens in the subject the desire to transform, and from this realization, he begins to actively participate in the external environment. Undergoing despair thus compels the person to choose to love or hate the world (212-213). This phase of maturation corresponds with the stage of repentance, for in both cases, the subject must make a conscious effort to alter his behavior. To Kierkegaard, those who spend their lives in pursuit of materialistic values fail to realize that they too live in a state of despair that robs them of spiritual fulfillment (197). Only when the subject becomes aware of the emptiness and futility induced by this condition can he commence the rebirth process. This stage of psychological awareness serves as the catalyst for change in the person's behavior, and the initial phase of his transformation. As man makes the proper choices, he begins to mature, to discover and develop his real identity (181). Kierkegaard expresses the ultimate benefit from despair in the following passage: "So then choose despair, for despair itself is a choice; for one can doubt without choosing to, but one cannot despair without choosing. And when a man despairs, he chooses again—and what is it he chooses? He chooses himself, not in his immediacy, not as this fortuitous individual, but he chooses himself in his eternal validity." Just as Dante undergoes the torment of the inferno to reach his blessed Beatrice, and just as Raskolnikov experiences the emotional anguish over the murder of the elderly pawnbroker, so must man turn inwardly to discover the truth of his nature in order to embark on his journey of transformation. Be it the darkness of night, the damp walls of a prison, a retreat into the frozen tundra, forty days in the wilderness, or even in the belly of a whale, the subject must resort to a place of reflection to consider the ethical choice that will alter his future forever. This phase of separation denotes a time of preparation and purification, a catharsis that parallels the notion of repentance. The subject must acknowledge his need for forgiveness and guidance from a higher authority. Kierkegaard says that man "repents himself back into himself, back into the family, back into the race, until he finds himself in God" (220). Tragically, and ironically, those who fail to make the ethical choice condemn themselves to a form of despair-induced spiritual paralysis (215).

         Kierkegaard contrasts the goals of the philosopher and the ethical or spiritual man through their different perceptions of time. The philosopher, he suggests, lives in the time frame of the moment and stoically accepts his fate by necessity. The ethical man, however, lives in the realm of absolute time and anticipates a future over which he is free to exert influence. He focuses upon the future, not the present, and for this reason, his opportunities for growth never cease. Ennui and loneliness never obstruct his vision for tomorrow. In this respect, Kierkegaard's hero can elect to affect his destiny, but the philosopher only perceives man as a victim of determinism (179). The author suggests that the man of ethics lives "in the domain of action," while the aesthetic exists in the world of reflection (174). Basically, philosophers can explain the intellectual trends of the past but are unable "to tell a plain man what he has to do in life" or even know, themselves, what they should do (175).

          Kierkegaard admits that even ethical man will suffer adversity but will not allow it to overwhelm him. Distress and misfortune are inevitable in life, but the ethical man can find beauty and truth even in calamity. The Apostle Paul tells the Philippians that he has learned to be content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11). This assurance appears to be the author's view as well. Kierkegaard goes on to say that it is the person's fault if he becomes melancholy (190). He defines "melancholy" as "hysteria of the spirit" resulting from neglect of the spirit's call (193). Whenever a crucial moment of immediacy occurs and the spirit demands that the subject choose a higher form of action, the individual must respond accordingly in order to grow spiritually. If the ethical man fails, however, or seeks other ways of circumventing his goal, such as inducing forgetfulness or overworking, he will suffer melancholy or guilt. The subject must choose to transcend worldly issues. Melancholy, the writer observes, is a sin one must overcome (193). In essence, transformation of the spirit is essential here for the hero to ascribe the greater value to spiritual rather than earthly possessions. The author expresses this metaphysical conflict in the following passage: "The immediacy of the spirit is unable to break through, and yet it demands a metamorphosis, it demands a higher form of existence" (190). In contrast, if the spirit desires that the subject attain inner consciousness but remains unable to arrive at its goal, the spirit is "repressed and gathers new wrath" (191). Much like Freud's theory of the energy of the libido or the dream censorship, repression leads to abnormal behavior such as violence and neurosis; in the cases the accompanying separation from God proves a far worse result. To avoid these adverse consequences, the subject must strongly desire to change, and not allow fears or doubts to overshadow the object, or wish-fulfillment. The subject must sublimate the energy from his baser desires in order to work with the God's spirit in achieving a higher goal. This is the primary message of the Gospels. In religious terms, Jesus tells his apostles to "watch therefore and pray" because "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Here, the Lord admonishes his followers to keep their spirit focused on their heavenly goal because it is very easy for the flesh to weaken and deprive the spirit of its power to transform. Basically, the ethical person must die to his old way of life in order to be reborn in God. In essence, this miracle of death-and-rebirth is the primary message of the Gospels. Whether the theme is death-and resurrection, death-and-rebirth, or loss-and-redemption, the goal is the same. Kierkegaard also discusses the spiritual reward for making the appropriate moral choices. Making the proper decision at the moment of immediacy unites the subject with an eternal power that provides him a permanent sense of identity and oneness with his Creator. He no longer suffers the alienation, loss of direction, and hopelessness associated with the existential void (210). The author paradoxically encourages the reader to welcome despair so that he can experience the freedom of choice, like the phoenix rising from its ashes. Kierkegaard closes the section with the following admonition: "So then I bid you despair, and never more will your frivolity cause you to wander like an unquiet spirit, like a ghost, amid the ruins of a world which to you is lost. Despair, and never more will your spirit sigh in melancholy, for again the world will become beautiful to you and joyful, although you see it with different eyes than before, and your liberated spirit will soar into the world of freedom" (223).

                                                     Works Cited for Kierkegaard's Either/Or

Kierkegaard, Soren. Either/Or. Volume II. Walter Lowrie. Trans. With Revisions and                                Foreword by  Howard A. Johnson. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,              1974.