Chapter 12 - Faith Beyond Reason: Suprarationalism and Antirationalism

Summary

By discussing different interpretations, Chapter 12 shows that Kierkegaard is a suprarationalist, who takes faith to be above reason, not against it. Specifically, he is neither an irrationalist, who takes faith to be irrational, nor an antirationalist, who claims that faith and reason oppose each other, without any logical contradiction or irrationality. Indeed, for Kierkegaard, faith seems capable of overcoming the hostility and antagonism between faith and reason that antirationalism emphasizes. Still, Kierkegaard’s nonreligious pseudonyms do contrast faith and reason in order to counteract theological views that are overly rationalistic and scientific. Indeed, Kierkegaard goes as far as criticizing the Augustinian idea of faith seeking understanding. But instead of promoting blind faith, he attacks rationalist and intellectualist accounts of faith that do not do justice to the mysteries of divine revelation and the incarnation. He therefore maintains that faith cannot be reduced to conceptual understanding, although it must nevertheless both involve and seek practical understanding.