SK Journal Excerpt

Soren Kierkegaard wrote about a thing he called "subjective truth". Those who are new to his writings have had difficulty with this term, but he used it consistently within what he called his 'life view'.

This journal excerpt was probably written before he had a lot of his categories clearly defined, but the elements of his later writings were certainly there. This is a favorite passage of mine.

"What I really need is to be clear about what I am to do, not about what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every action. It is a question of understanding my destiny, of seeing what the Deity really wants me to do. It is a question of finding a truth that is truth for me, of finding the idea for which I am willing to live and die.


And what would it profit me if I discovered a so-called objective truth; if I worked my way through the systems of the philosophers and was able to parade them forth on demand; if I was able to demonstrate the inconsistencies within each individual circle...-what would it profit me if I were able to expound the significance of Christianity, able to explain many individual points, if it held no deeper significance for me and for my life? ... What would it profite me if the truth stood before me, cold and naked, not caring whether I acknowledged it or not, calling forth an anguished shudder rather than a confident submission?

I will certainly not deny that I still believe in the validity of an imperative of knowledge that has an influence upon men, but it nonetheless must become a living part of me, and this is what I now understand to be the heart of the matter. It is for this my soul thirsts, as the deserts of Africa thirst for water."

Garff. Soren Kierkegaard. p. 58