You Must Change Your Life
Søren Kierkegaard’s Philosophy of Reading
- Philosophy
- Publisher: Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2020
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Publisher's Description
Countless academic books have been written about how to interpret literary texts. From reader response criticism to Marxist hermeneutics and beyond, the scholarship on interpretive methods is vast. Yet all these books fail to address a more fundamental question: Why should we read in the first place? Or, to put it another way, why is reading an important thing to do? In order to answer these questions, Thomas J. Millay turns to the wisdom of Danish philosopher-theologian Soren Kierkegaard. In this the first book to be written on Kierkegaard's philosophy of reading, Millay finds that reading does have a specific purpose: it is supposed to change your life. With lucid, nontechnical prose, Millay both establishes the definitive interpretation of Kierkegaard's philosophy of reading and explores the various concrete practices Kierkegaard recommended for its implementation.
Endorsements (5)
“Rarely do we pause and consider how we ought to read. With laser focus on this question, Thomas Millay makes the paradoxically compelling case that reflection on this question ought to move us away from reflection toward action, specifically the works of neighbor love. How one reads matters, then, since the very transformation of our hearts, minds, and wills is at stake.”
“In recent decades, research has shown that literary reading is in a slow but certain decline in Western society—a trend that has been hastened by the arrival of the smartphone. Why bother to read, one might assume, when there is now an abundance of other engaging options, from Facebook to Netflix? One of the best things about Millay’s book is that it speaks to this concern, arguing, in particular, that Søren Kierkegaard’s thought offers a nuanced apology for the task of reading. Intriguingly, it turns out, Kierkegaard believes that reading, as a quiet and reflective activity, is essential training for the individual to learn how to act well in the world. Thus, Millay’s book does a great service: it gives us timely wisdom from a thinker whose understanding of modernity is looking increasingly prescient.”
“Reading is on its way back and there is a growing literature relating to what it means to read well. Thomas J. Millay’s new book shows that Kierkegaard can make an important contribution to the discussion, as well as reminding us that reading is not an end in itself but is to help us change our lives.”
“Thomas Millay’s volume performs an astonishing feat: it both edifies the general reader and stretches the Kierkegaard specialist. Its main contention could not be more culturally relevant. In this era of the intensified reading of tweets and posts, it reminds us that the ultimate purpose of reading should not be escapism or the accumulation of data, but rather the transformation of the self, which is nothing less than growth in love for God and neighbor.”
“Reading well was once regarded as the first step one takes in a process that leads to the contemplation of God. Augustine and Kierkegaard knew that, each in his own way. Thomas J. Millay judiciously and clearly points us back to them while letting us see the limits of their visions. We can only benefit by reading this elegant book.”
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