Prefaces
Encyclopedia
Prefaces is a book by Søren Kierkegaard
published under the pseudonym Nicolaus Notabene. It is a series of prefaces for unwritten books, books unwritten because the fictitious Notabene's wife has sworn to divorce him if he ever becomes a writer.
Prefaces was published June 17, 1844, the same date as The Concept of Anxiety (also by a pseudonym: Vigilius Haufniensis). This was the second time Kierkegaard simultaneously published two pseudonymous works (the first being Oct 16, 1843, with the publication of Repetition
alongside Fear and Trembling
). In this case, the ludicrous but affable figure of Notabene is clearly meant to illustrate the pedantic and rather annoying characteristics of the more philosophically articulate Haufniensis. There are many links between the two authors and texts ("Preface VII" was originally intended to be the preface for The Concept of Anxiety,) but what strikes the reader is the immense difference of personality between the two authors: the one, Haufniensis, sits upright at his desk, interrogating the concept of anxiety, while the other, Notabene, cowers in secret, writing a series of beginnings that never reach fruition, articulating the essence of anxiety through his existence. Their differences take on a dialectical valence when it is realized that Haufniensis' stability masks a dogmatic, aesthetic, life, whereas Notabene's anxiety emerges from a married, somewhat ethical, existence.
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...
published under the pseudonym Nicolaus Notabene. It is a series of prefaces for unwritten books, books unwritten because the fictitious Notabene's wife has sworn to divorce him if he ever becomes a writer.
Prefaces was published June 17, 1844, the same date as The Concept of Anxiety (also by a pseudonym: Vigilius Haufniensis). This was the second time Kierkegaard simultaneously published two pseudonymous works (the first being Oct 16, 1843, with the publication of Repetition
Repetition (Kierkegaard)
Kierkegaard said "Seneca has said that when a person has reached his thirtieth year he ought to know his constitution so well that he can be his own physician; I likewise believe that when a person has reached a certain age he ought to be able to be his own pastor...
alongside Fear and Trembling
Fear and Trembling
Fear and Trembling is an influential philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio...
). In this case, the ludicrous but affable figure of Notabene is clearly meant to illustrate the pedantic and rather annoying characteristics of the more philosophically articulate Haufniensis. There are many links between the two authors and texts ("Preface VII" was originally intended to be the preface for The Concept of Anxiety,) but what strikes the reader is the immense difference of personality between the two authors: the one, Haufniensis, sits upright at his desk, interrogating the concept of anxiety, while the other, Notabene, cowers in secret, writing a series of beginnings that never reach fruition, articulating the essence of anxiety through his existence. Their differences take on a dialectical valence when it is realized that Haufniensis' stability masks a dogmatic, aesthetic, life, whereas Notabene's anxiety emerges from a married, somewhat ethical, existence.