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Kierkegaard's Writings #10
Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions
Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions was the last of seven works signed by Kierkegaard and published simultaneously with an anonymously authored companion piece. Imagined Occasions both complements and stands in contrast to Kierkegaard's pseudonymously published Stages on Life's Way.
The two volumes not only have a chronological relation but treat some of the same distinct themes. The first of the three discourses, "On the Occasion of a Confession," centers on stillness, wonder, and one's search for God--in contrast to the speechmaking on erotic love in "In Vino Veritas," part one of Stages. The second discourse, "On the Occasion of a Wedding," complements the second part of Stages, in which Judge William delivers a panegyric on marriage. The third discourse, "At a Graveside," sharpens the ethical and religious earnestness implicit in Stages's "'Guilty'/'Not Guilty'" and completes this collection.
The two volumes not only have a chronological relation but treat some of the same distinct themes. The first of the three discourses, "On the Occasion of a Confession," centers on stillness, wonder, and one's search for God--in contrast to the speechmaking on erotic love in "In Vino Veritas," part one of Stages. The second discourse, "On the Occasion of a Wedding," complements the second part of Stages, in which Judge William delivers a panegyric on marriage. The third discourse, "At a Graveside," sharpens the ethical and religious earnestness implicit in Stages's "'Guilty'/'Not Guilty'" and completes this collection.
200 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 1845
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175 people want to read
About the author
Søren Kierkegaard
1,135 books6,466 followersSøren Aabye Kierkegaard was a prolific 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian. Kierkegaard strongly criticised both the Hegelianism of his time and what he saw as the empty formalities of the Church of Denmark. Much of his work deals with religious themes such as faith in God, the institution of the Christian Church, Christian ethics and theology, and the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced with life choices. His early work was written under various pseudonyms who present their own distinctive viewpoints in a complex dialogue.
Kierkegaard left the task of discovering the meaning of his works to the reader, because "the task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted". Scholars have interpreted Kierkegaard variously as an existentialist, neo-orthodoxist, postmodernist, humanist, and individualist.
Crossing the boundaries of philosophy, theology, psychology, and literature, he is an influential figure in contemporary thought.
Kierkegaard left the task of discovering the meaning of his works to the reader, because "the task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted". Scholars have interpreted Kierkegaard variously as an existentialist, neo-orthodoxist, postmodernist, humanist, and individualist.
Crossing the boundaries of philosophy, theology, psychology, and literature, he is an influential figure in contemporary thought.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 2, 2019
Didn't expect this but "At a Graveside" was my favorite of the three. I think SK explains "being towards death" about 10 times better than Heidegger and, in some respects, I even prefer it to Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich."
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April 3, 2020"Have any notion you wish about your life, about its importance for everybody, about its importance for yourself, death has no notion of and pays no attention to notion."
June 30, 2022
To all my goodreads besties, or I guess any other random person that somehow comes across this book that literally only has like 55 ratings - I'm sorry, but this review isn't gonna be an entertaining one :(. In fact I really can't review it at all for two reasons.
Firstly, as a personal read this books was serving a very personal purpose, so in the interest of NOT trauma dumping on my goodreads account I'll skip diving into why it had so much significance for me, and leave it at the 5/5.
Secondly, as an objective or philosophical read I don't think this book can even be meaningfully rated, and the reason for this is explained perfectly in the preface. As the title suggests the book is about three "imagined occasions", which are really three sort of "thought experiments" about important life moments. And as Kierkegaard explains in the preface, all of the books meaning is found in the reader themselves, who "brings" the occasions with them to the book and imbues Kierkegaard's incredibly poetic writing (at least I think it is, although many find it unbearable) with their own very personal meaning. In fact, I've actually only read one of the three discourses so far, and plan to keep it that way until I can read the other two as they were meant to be read - while living them. Regardless, I think Kierkegaard's ability to write a book of this nature alone also earns it more than a 5/5.
TL;DR - LITERALLY go touch grass before you read this book or you aren't reading it right.
Firstly, as a personal read this books was serving a very personal purpose, so in the interest of NOT trauma dumping on my goodreads account I'll skip diving into why it had so much significance for me, and leave it at the 5/5.
Secondly, as an objective or philosophical read I don't think this book can even be meaningfully rated, and the reason for this is explained perfectly in the preface. As the title suggests the book is about three "imagined occasions", which are really three sort of "thought experiments" about important life moments. And as Kierkegaard explains in the preface, all of the books meaning is found in the reader themselves, who "brings" the occasions with them to the book and imbues Kierkegaard's incredibly poetic writing (at least I think it is, although many find it unbearable) with their own very personal meaning. In fact, I've actually only read one of the three discourses so far, and plan to keep it that way until I can read the other two as they were meant to be read - while living them. Regardless, I think Kierkegaard's ability to write a book of this nature alone also earns it more than a 5/5.
TL;DR - LITERALLY go touch grass before you read this book or you aren't reading it right.
February 8, 2015
"to love, and never to cease the search for the sacred source of this pain!"
"What a difference between youthfully wishing to fight, and the explanation that he must suffer, and that it is this which he must do with enthusiasm!"
"When illness becomes the daily guest, and time passes, the time of happiness, when even the nearest of kin become weary of the sufferer, and many an impatient word inflicts its wound, when the sufferer himself feels that his mere presence is disturbing to pleasure, so that he must sit apart from the dancing: then it is supposed to be alleviating to consider that death invites him also to the dance, and in that dance all are equal."
"no one ever takes the trouble to consider the other side of the truth, whether the one who expresses it really has it, or whether it is not something he recites by rote."
"What a difference between youthfully wishing to fight, and the explanation that he must suffer, and that it is this which he must do with enthusiasm!"
"When illness becomes the daily guest, and time passes, the time of happiness, when even the nearest of kin become weary of the sufferer, and many an impatient word inflicts its wound, when the sufferer himself feels that his mere presence is disturbing to pleasure, so that he must sit apart from the dancing: then it is supposed to be alleviating to consider that death invites him also to the dance, and in that dance all are equal."
"no one ever takes the trouble to consider the other side of the truth, whether the one who expresses it really has it, or whether it is not something he recites by rote."
April 16, 2021
Not as playful as some of his work from this period, but a nice companion piece. The third discourse especially is excellent, and contains in kernel form many of the insights that would get SK named the father of existentialism. (And which Heidegger would steal and cloak in jargon.)
June 23, 2023
Five Stars for At a Graveside alone, On the Occassion of a Wedding was good too.
July 27, 2024
I only read "At a graveside". Very profound essay by the great Danish philosopher
May 1, 2014
Like most of Kierkegaard's religious discourses, these tend to beat way around the bush. There's some very good, provocative stuff here, but extracting it takes a good deal of work.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews