Kierkegaard and the Art of Irony

by Roy Martinez

The tendency of many scholars to interpret Kierkegaard's works as a unified system of "indirect communication" that obliquely hints at an underlying ontology or a set of ethical principles is fundamentally misguided, says philosopher Roy Martinez. Kierkegaard's discourse is essentially rhetorical and irony is the chief strategy of his rhetoric. Kierkegaard's use of irony assumes a very special role, according to Martinez, for it becomes emblematic of Kierkegaard's unique view of faith. Through this rhetorical posture Kierkegaard succeeds in simultaneously holding back from the "cosmic march" of events while still remaining fully engaged in the urgent demands of life. Irony thus becomes the poetic medium par excellence.

Martinez focuses on Kierkegaard's use of pseudonyms, the chief expression of his ironical art. The role of pseudonymity is considered in connection with Kierkegaard's critique of Augustine's concept of faith, the Socratic concern with self-knowledge, Judge Wilhelm as a caricature of Socrates, Kierkegaard's place in the hermeneutic project, his notion of "inward deepening," and the ethical reality of other persons in relation to the single individual. Martinez also explores the self-referential character of the pseudonymous author of Fear and Trembling, Johannes de Silentio.

Martinez's close reading of Kierkegaard's texts in the original Danish makes this work an exemplary study for students and scholars alike.

142 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[B. Rule · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of this book promises much more excitement than it delivers. I found the first two parts dry as toast and turgid with needless jargon. Things perked up considerably in the third part, which contains some very solid scholarship on SK and prose that, while perhaps not pellucid, is considerably more readable. I did notice that those latter pieces had each been published previously in journals, while the book is front-loaded with new essays. Perhaps Martinez really needs more editorial guidance to shine? Nonetheless, I was very impressed by his analysis of Judge Wilhelm from Either/Or as a caricature of Socrates, and his efforts to rescue Kierkegaard from the charge that he ignores the ethical relationship between people in his focus on the relationship of "that single individual" with the divine. Of further note is Martinez's explication of some Danish terms to illuminate Kierkegaardian categories; I don't know many scholars of SK that use this approach so deftly. While I ultimately found some nuggets of scholarly value here, I was quite disappointed that the actual discussions of "irony" were somewhat perfunctory. Martinez analyzes some related but distinct categories like resignation, repetition, and inwardness, but the titular "art" remains sketchy at best. This is one probably best left to the completist or the dissertation bibliographer.