NOETIC DIALECTIC OF KIERKEGAARD

What is the task of Christian teaching? According to Kierkegaard, there are two types of dialectics by which communication takes place. One has been called the Noetic dialectic and another Religious dialectic. Essential to this dialectic are the distinctions between knowledge and ignorance and between truth and falsity. This is the dialectic employed by most teaching, scholarship and science in order to obtain more information or in order to understand a given subject matter. It of course can be applied to activities related to Christianity, for example, in order to obtain more historical information about the apostle Paul or about the formation and development of the Church.

As Kierkegaard saw it, the evasion of the requirements of a genuinely religious Christian existence, which had been going on for centuries, was now greatly amplified in his time because Hegelian philosophy had permeated the intellectual leadership and the scholarship of Christianity.This had influenced the intellectual élite and scholarly teachers of Christianity to examine various doctrines of the Gospel, in order to demonstrate how correct reasoning and understanding could reveal their truth. Consequently, only revelations which can be justified by reason were considered acceptable. Kierkegaard regarded this presentation of ‘the reasonableness of Christianity’ as a form of treason because it dared to presuppose that an infinite God and his infinite wisdom could be grasped by finite human understanding. Since, as finite beings, we cannot know God’s existence. Kierkegaard asserts that one can accept Christianity solely by making a ‘leap to faith’, and if we are unable to live in true faith then we should give up Christianity altogether. 

According to Kierkegaard, however, faith that is rooted in understanding is not true faith, but merely an intellectual acceptance of doctrines containing dogmatic truths. Genuine faith, which lies at the heart of Christianity, cannot be sanctioned by human reason. He observes that the general absence of true faith in contemporary Christianity is connected with, and reinforced by, the fact that virtually anyone can ‘become’ a ‘Christian’ – people now call themselves Christian merely because they are born to Christian parents in a Christian nation – and this has reduced Christianity to a mere fashionable tradition adhered to by swarms of unbelieving ‘believers’.

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Reason and Faith

Reason and faith are like two sides of the same coins. None of them can stand by themselves isolated from one another. Reason helps us to know something intellectually and faith challenges us to leap into darkness of hope and belief. Reason which also means ‘Noetic dialectic’ focuses on understanding, intellectual capacity and observation. Religious dialectic makes distinction between faith and doubt, not that between knowledge and ignorance.

The expectation of eternal happiness and the significance it has for the    present life

          The expectation of eternal happiness will help a man to understand his temporal existence because one praises the experienced life and takes guidance from the one who has experienced it. Such a life has gone through struggles and has learned how to live even in case of failures but still it is at the service of our temporal existence whereas the life of youth is at the service of imagination and mental illusions. Therefore one requires guide in his life who helps one to understand life gradually. That guide is his goal, an eternal happiness.

        The life experiences may teach one to bring gladness in one’s life but the expectation of eternal happiness brings him true joy. The expectation of eternal happiness will reconcile every man with his neighbour, with his friend, and with his enemy in understanding of the essential.  Experience teaches one to give others their due but still it’s concerned in its temporal existence. It teaches one to reconcile all but that effect fades away after a certain period of time but the aspiration for the eternal happiness console one beyond all measures because it is in harmony with itself.

           Eternal happiness is a grace that god gives us. It is a relation between God and me. Therefore we shouldn’t allow third person that world to interfere it. We on our merit can’t achieve it. If we think so then it becomes earthly and not eternal. Therefore in faith we expect this eternal happiness and receive it.

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  Eternal Happiness

           We have been seeing regarding Christianity all through this paper but the question as to why all this always remains. The question is answered in this point by Kierkegaard. He says that when reveal our wishes to somebody he understands us because in it not only our soul is revealed  but also he sees us because our wishes betray us to him. Therefore someone has said that wishing is a foolish art because we compare one who has the habit of wishing with the one resorted to the beggars staff through laziness. Both of them live on charity.

          However, wishing also displays an attractive side.  All of our childhood goes on in wishing which adds meaning to our life. Sometimes there were stories in which men and women were granted satisfaction by three wishes. One of them is eternal happiness. When he had assured eternal happiness for himself then he would wish for other things for the sake fun. In the midst of life’s seriousness we require fun.

       Kierkegaard says that the men of this age have learned how to work their wish so that they can divorce themselves from the habit of wishing. It is good if we want to get away from the deceitfulness of wishing but the eternal happiness is not what men consider to be frivolous.

    Eternal happiness is not acquired on the earth by involving ourselves with the things like the concern for the future or is achieved by violence rather doing the things which are impossible, to seek the kingdom of god here on earth.

3.3  What is to become a real disciple?

        Becoming a real disciple is a task that begins when a person realizes that he was in a state of error that is he was unaware of the Christ but once he comes to the knowledge of Christ he possesses the truth.  He becomes a new creature in the sense of becoming a man of different quality. In so far as he was in the state of error he was running away from the truth but after he has opened himself to the presence of Christ his life takes the opposite direction. This change is called conversion. This conversion cannot take place unless it is taken up in his consciousness. With this consciousness he will take the leave of his former state by being sad for remaining so long in the state of error. This grief is called as Repentance after which he looks forward to quicken his life towards reaching Christ. This whole process of transition from his former state to the present is nothing but new birth. It is because when enters into the world he’s completely a new person.

3.1              Serving One Master

         Kierkegaard observes the words of Jesus in the gospel according to St. Matthew, “No one can serve two masters.” He says that we must go into the world and observe what the lives of people express. They express only one thing that no man can serve two masters.

He means that we can’t serve both God and the World. Choosing to serve either of two means complete dedication. Either we can serve God or the world and not both. Even the lives of religious who profess to have dedicated them in the service of God can’t live on two planes. They serve either of them. As the time passes with people becoming more and more sophisticated and cultured, they try to use their knowledge and common sense to suit their needs. Sometimes people also try to change the teaching of Christianity to suit the needs of the time. They say that they require a faith or teaching that is relevant to their age not that was practised by people of earlier age which could have been relevant for them at that time. But Kierkegaard affirms that Christianity can’t be changed. It is unchangeable. He gives an example of a child who just because can’t climb the top of it commands it to get aside from the place.  People can do away with Christianity or give up their faith but can’t change its teaching. There are absolute requirements of Christianity which are to be fulfilled.

       Why do people feel that original teaching of Christianity is not pertinent to this time? It is because they may not be or are not able to fulfil the absolute requirements. Therefore the solution Kierkegaard puts before is like our forefathers accept the fact that lack to fulfil these requirements. Why Christianity is not willing to change? Because if it does so there will be different teaching at every time. People will create their own Christianities to suit their motives and the essence of the real teaching will be lost.

       Therefore every Christian must strive to fulfil the absolute requirements. There may come a time when nobody will fulfil it but the fact will continue to remain the same that one has fulfilled it at the cost of His life. He is none other than our Lord who served only one master by fulfilling the absolute requirements when he was on the earth.

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3.1              The Narrow Path

         Jesus says, “Walk through the narrow way because it leads to the kingdom of God.” Why? For it is full of difficulties. One must go through this to attain the kingdom of God. Kierkegaard rephrases this sentence and adds his words saying that what is more important for us is not the narrow path but the narrowness of the path. It means that to reach towards the perfection one must experience tribulation. Here the essential meaning of this pint is not the path but the journey in other words how one travels the path. Though one is aware of the tribulations and the afflictions on the path one radiates the joyful disposition. One must always keep oneself joyful because the afflictions lead one to perfection. When one finds oneself joyful in the midst of these afflictions on the way towards perfection one is strengthened.

        As one moves forward on this path it becomes harder and harder. Therefore before beginning the journey one should always establish the task that one wants to achieve and then perfect it. Once the task is established the way becomes clear that is the way of affliction. As one marches ahead one may find many people on the same path along with one who have no afflictions then one must know that they don’t share his path.

         The affliction and the way are not two separate things. They are one. If you take one away then the other also is taken away. Eventually it leads to something. As long as the affliction is the way it will lead to something and if it is not then it ceases to be the way.

          To conclude, as our master has said that we must walk through the narrow way to achieve the eternal life. It means that we must walk on the path full of difficulties and hindrances so that it will lead us to achieve eternal happiness