The Passion of Infinity: Kierkegaard, Aristotle and the Rebirth of Tragedy (Kierkegaard Studies. Monograph Series Book 19)

__The Passion of Infinity__ generates a historical narrative surrounding the concept of the irrational as a threat which rational culture has made a series of attempts to understand and relieve. It begins with a reading of Sophocles' Oedipus as the paradigmatic figure of a reason that, having transgressed its mortal limit, becomes catastrophically reversed. It then moves through Aristotle's ethics, psychology and theory of tragedy, which redefine reason's collapses in moral-psychological rather than religious terms. By changing the way in which the irrational is conceived, and the nature of its relation to reason, Aristotle eliminates the concept of an irrationality which reason cannot in principle dissolve. The book culminates in an extensive reading of Kierkegaard's pseudonyms, who, in a critical retrieval of both Greek tragedy and Aristotle, prescribe their apparently pathological age a paradoxical task: develop a finite form of subjectivity willing to undergo an unthinkable thought ‐ allow the transcendence of a god to enter into the mind as well as the marrow, to make a tragic appearance in which a limit to the immanence of human reason can again be established.

The Passion of Infinity generates a historical narrative surrounding the concept of the irrational as a threat which rational culture has made a series of attempts to understand and relieve. It begins with a reading of Sophocles' Oedipus as the paradigmatic figure of a reason that, having transgressed its mortal limit, becomes catastrophically reversed. It then moves through Aristotle's ethics, psychology and theory of tragedy, which redefine reason's collapses in moral-psychological rather than religious terms. By changing the way in which the irrational is conceived, and the nature of its relation to reason, Aristotle eliminates the concept of an irrationality which reason cannot in principle dissolve. The book culminates in an extensive reading of Kierkegaard's pseudonyms, who, in a critical retrieval of both Greek tragedy and Aristotle, prescribe their apparently pathological age a paradoxical task: develop a finite form of subjectivity willing to undergo an unthinkable thought ‐ allow the transcendence of a god to enter into the mind as well as the marrow, to make a tragic appearance in which a limit to the immanence of human reason can again be established.

Ancient Greece -- Reason And The Irrational : Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus -- Literature And Moral Psychology : From Homer To Sophocles -- Aristotle's Poetics : Oedipus And The Problem Of Tragedy -- Psuchē Redux : Philosophy And The New Psychology -- Psychologizing Oedipus : Reason And Unreason In Aristotle's Ethics -- Golden Age Denmark -- Kierkegaard's Retrieval Of Greek Tragedy -- Tragedy As Historical Idea : Either/or's Ancient Drama Reflected In The Modern -- Stages On Life's Way : Hamartia After Modernity -- Fear And Trembling : Tragedy, Comedy And The Heroism Of Abraham -- The Concept Of Anxiety : Fate And The Tragic Logos Of A Second Ethics -- Beyond Eudaimonism : Tragic Virtue And The Practice Of Eternity -- Moral Psychology In The Pseudonyms, Search For A Method -- Ethics Contra Ethics : Climacus On Eternal Happiness And Tragic Virtue -- Kierkegaard And The Tragedy Of Authorship. Daniel Greenspan. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [317]-326) And Indexes. Frontmatter Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1. Reason and the Irrational: Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus Chapter 2. Literature and Moral Psychology: From Homer to Sophocles Chapter 3. Aristotle’s Poetics: Oedipus and the Problem of Tragedy Chapter 4. Psuche Redux: Philosophy and the New Psychology Chapter 5. Psychologizing Oedipus: Reason and Unreason in Aristotle’s Ethics Chapter 6. Tragedy as Historical Idea: Either/Or’s “Ancient Drama Reflected in the Modern” Chapter 7. Stages on Life’s Way: Hamartia after Modernity Chapter 8. Fear and Trembling: Tragedy, Comedy and the Heroism of Abraham Chapter 9. The Concept of Anxiety: Fate and the Tragic Logos of Second Ethics Chapter 10. Moral Psychology in the Pseudonyms, Search for a Method Chapter 11. Ethics Contra Ethics: Climacus on Eternal Happiness and Tragic Virtue Chapter 12. Kierkegaard and the Tragedy of Authorship Backmatter Introduction 1 Ancient Greece Reason and the irrational : Sophocles' Oedipus tyrannus Psuchê : literature and moral psychology from Homer to Sophocles Aristotle's poetics : Oedipus and the problem of tragedy Psuchê redux : philosophy and the new psychology Psychologizing Oedipus : reason and unreason in Aristotle's ethics Golden age denmark Kierkegaard's retrieval of Greek tragedy Tragedy as historical idea : either/or ancient drama reflected in the modern Stages on life's way : Hamartia in the wake of modernity Fear and trembling : tragedy, comedy, and the heroism of Abraham The concept of anxiety : fate and the tragic logos of a second ethics Beyond eudaimonism : tragic virtue and the practice of eternity Moral psychology in the pseudonyms, search for a method ethicscontra ethics : Climacus on eternal happiness and tragic virtue Kierkegaard and the tragedy of authorship. Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 1997 gilt die Reihe Kierkegaard Studies Monograph Series (KSMS) als maßgebendes Forum für herausragende Monographien aus dem gesamten Bereich der Kierkegaard-Forschung. Sie bietet Raum für die verschiedenen Forschungstraditionen zu Kierkegaard, die solchermaßen in einen konstruktiven Dialog treten. Kierkegaard Studies Monograph Series wird im Auftrag des Søren Kierkegaard Forschungszentrums (Universität Kopenhagen) herausgegeben. Potential authors should consult the Submission guidelines. All submissions will be blindly refereed by established scholars in the field. Only high-quality manuscripts will be accepted for publication. Potential authors should be prepared to make changes to their texts based on the comments received by the referees. Biographical note: Daniel Greenspan, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA