Hearing the Word of God: A Kierkegaardian Phenomenology of Conscience

Dr. Steven DeLay discusses the relationship between Kierkegaard and Husserl through the common thread of conscience, and how phenomenology can be undertaken with an attentiveness to the Word of God. Abstract: “Husserl insisted that I should study Kierkegaard.” So recounts the Russian existential philosopher, Lev Shestov, in his posthumously published 1939 essay, “In Memory of a Great Philosopher: Edmund Husserl.” Why would Husserl have said such a thing? As soon as one begins attempting to trace the conceptual lineage of phenomenology back to Kierkegaard, a number of philosophical connections worthy of attention emerge. Above all, it is the phenomenon of conscience that constitutes the cornerstone of such an analysis. For, just as conscience lies at the heart of the human experience, so too it lies at the heart of the attempt to exhibit that experience in philosophical thought. By emphasizing that life (and thought) is lived before God, a Kierkegaardian phenomenology of conscience illuminates what is most at stake, both methodologically and existentially, in doing phenomenology, and realizes phenomenology’s longstanding ambition to make sense of what it means to be the kind of beings we are, or, as Kierkegaard would put the matter, to be a single individual. Focusing on the phenomenon of conscience, this lecture develops an account of doing phenomenology in a Kierkegaardian way, that is, doing phenomenology before God. The text of this lecture has been recently published in a collection of essays from Rowman & Littlefield, “Kierkegaardian Phenomenologies”: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666942323... Steven DeLay is a philosopher, author, thinker, and speaker. You can learn more about him and his work here: https://stevendelay.com/ and follow him on X.com:   / stevendelay4   The Lyceum Institute is an initiative fostering the intellectual life through digital life, aiming to transform our habits into a more thoughtful way of being—instilling critical and reflective thinking in all that we do. Learn more here: https://lyceum.institute #philosophy #husserl #kierkegaard #phenomenology