Will Williams - Kierkegaard and the Legitimacy of the Comic: Understanding the Relevance of Irony, Humor, and the Comic for Ethics and Religion

Kierkegaard and the
Legitimacy of the Comic

LEXINGTON BOOKS

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available

LCCN 2018949986 | ISBN 978-1-4985-7714-4 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 978-1-4985-7715-1 (ebook)

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

To Lesley-Anne

Amor gignit amorem

There are several people who have helped to make this book possible. I am grateful to my colleagues and mentors, in the fields of both theology and philosophy, for their advice, helpful challenges, and insight over the years. In particular, I am grateful to Steve Evans, Paul Martens, and Ralph Wood of Baylor University, both for their time and for their examples of thoughtful scholarship.

A special word of thanks is owed to the Howard V. and Edna H. Hong Kierkegaard Library at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Gordon Marino has offered me much advice and encouragement, while fostering a hospitable environment for scholarship. I am especially grateful for the generosity of the Kierkegaard House Foundation, whose fellowship provided me with needed time and resources to edit and research for this project. My thanks go to Erik Hong and Andy Burgess, whose generosity to me has been freely given and gratefully received.

I am grateful to my family for their encouragement of my scholarship over the years. My heartfelt thanks go to my wife, Lesley-Anne, who has facilitated my research with her insight and her warm support of my efforts.

The Concept of Irony. Translated by Howard V. and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. Copyright 1989 by Howard V. Hong. Reprinted by permission of Postscript, Inc.

Concluding Unscientific Postscript. Translated by Howard V. and Edna H. Hong, vols. 12. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. Copyright 1992 by Howard V. Hong. Reprinted by permission of Postscript, Inc.

The Corsair AffairandArticles Related to the Writings. Translated by Howard V. and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982. Copyright 1982 by Howard V. Hong. Reprinted by permission of Postscript, Inc.

Prefaces/Writing Sampler. Translated by Todd W. Nichol. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997. Copyright 1997 by Todd W. Nichol. Reprinted by permission of Postscript, Inc.

Sren Kierkegaards Journals and Papers. Edited and translated by Howard V. and Edna H. Hong, assisted by Gregor Malantschuk, vols. 16, vol. 7 Index and Composite Collation. Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press, 19671978. Copyright 19671978 by Howard V. Hong. Reprinted by permission of Postscript, Inc.

Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits. Translated by Howard V. and Edna H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. Copyright 1993 by Howard V. Hong. Reprinted by permission of Postscript, Inc.

The following list indicates works of Sren Kierkegaard in translation.