{"product_id":"kierkegaards-concept-of-despair-michael-theunissen-9780691095585","title":"Kierkegaard's Concept of Despair","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe literature on Kierkegaard is often content to paraphrase. By contrast, Michael Theunissen articulates one of Kierkegaard's central ideas, his theory of despair, in a detailed and comprehensible manner and confronts it with alternatives. Understanding what Kierkegaard wrote on despair is vital not only because it illuminates his thought as a whole, but because his account of despair in \u003ci\u003eThe Sickness unto Death\u003c\/i\u003e is the cornerstone of existentialism. Theunissen's book, published in German in 1993, is widely regarded as the best treatment of the subject in any language. Kierkegaard's \u003ci\u003eConcept of Despair\u003c\/i\u003e is also one of the few works on Kierkegaard that bridge the gap between the Continental and analytic traditions in philosophy. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Theunissen argues that for Kierkegaard, the fundamental characteristic of despair is the desire of the self \"not to be what it is.\" He sorts through the apparently chaotic text of \u003ci\u003eThe Sickness unto Death\u003c\/i\u003e to explain what Kierkegaard meant by the \"self,\" how and why individuals want to flee their selves, and how he believed they could reconnect with their selves. According to Theunissen, Kierkegaard thought that individuals in despair seek to deny their authentic selves to flee particular aspects of their character, their past, or the world, or in order to deny their \"mission.\" In addition to articulating and evaluating Kierkegaard's concept of despair, Theunissen relates Kierkegaard's ideas to those of Heidegger, Sartre, and other twentieth-century philosophers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael Theunissen\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691095582\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691095585\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/27\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.75lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.72h x 5.76w x 0.74d","brand":"Michael Theunissen","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48086765338879,"sku":"9780691095585","price":87.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_fa7e10f6-4d4c-4714-bca1-f541c2e87e8e.jpg?v=1769096446","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/kierkegaards-concept-of-despair-michael-theunissen-9780691095585","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}