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Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia

Miguel de Unamuno's Reception and Use of the Kierkegaardian Claim That "Truth IsSubjectivity"Author(s): Jan E. EvansSource: Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, T. 64, Fasc. 2/4, Horizontes Existenciários da Filosofia/ Søren Kierkegaard and Philosophy Today (Apr. - Dec., 2008), pp. 1113-1126Published by: Revista Portuguesa de FilosofiaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40419604 .

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64 » 2008

Miguel e Unamuno's eceptionndUseoftheKierkegaardianlaim hat

"Truths Subjectivity"JanE. Evans*

Abstract: That "truths subjectivity"s a claim madebyone ofKierkegaardpseud-onyms,JohannesClimacus, nd notKierkegaardimselfNevertheless,he view isassociatedwithKierkegaardnd has beenwidely ccepted s meaning hat truths

subjective." hispaperfirst larifies limacus'claim that "truths subjectivity"n

ConcludingUnscientific ostscript,nd then texploresUnamuno'sreceptionnduse oftheconcept.The two main aspectsof "truths subjectivity"hat Unamuno

gleansfrom limacus re that norder or ruthomatter,t mustbe lived, nd thatin order or he ruth o belived,t mustbeappropriatednpassion.There resignifi-cantdifferencesetween hetwo authors oncerninghe xistence f objective ruthand theuse ofdoubt,but bothClimacus nd Unamunorecognizeheneedfor ruth

to belived assionatelyor person rulyo bea humanbeing.KeyWords:Belief;Climacus,Johannes;Desire;Faith;Kierkegaard,eren 1813-1855);

Passion; Pseudonymity;ubjectivity; ruth;Unamuno,Miguelde (1864-1936).

Resumo:Adeclaracdode que "a verdade subjectividade"oi feita orum dos pseudo-nimos de Kierkegaard,ohannesClimacus,e ndopelo proprioKierkegaard. pesardisso, esta posicdo tern ido associada com Kierkegaard tern ido amplamentedifundida o sentido esignificarue a "verdade subjectiva". bjectivo opresenteartigo ,por sso,antesdemais,clarificar sentido a expressdo e Climacusdeque"a verdade subjectividade" a obra Postscript, ara depotsexplorar recepgdoo uso que Miguelde Unamunofazdo conceito.Os dois aspectosassociados com a

afirmagdoeque a "verdade subjectividade"ue Unamunorecebe e Climacus doos de que em ordem que a questdoda verdade eja realmentemportante neces-sdrioque ela seja vivida, que em ordem que a verdade eja vivida e necessdrio

que ela seja apropriada ompaixdo.O artigomostra, ssim,que existem iferengassignifwativasntre s doisautores proposito a existencia e umaverdade bjectivae do uso da duvida,mastambem ue tantoClimacuscomo Unamunoreconhecemnecessidade eque a verdade eja vivida paixonadamenteara que umapessoa vivaa plenitude a sua condigdo umana.

Palavras-Chave:Climacus,Johannes;Crenca;Desejo; Fe; Kierkegaard, oren (1813-•1855); Paixdo; Pseudonimia;Subjectividade;Unamuno,Miguelde (1864-1936);

Verdade,*BaylorUniversityWaco,Texas- usa).

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1114 JAN . Evans

Climacus, pseudonymf S0renKierkegaard,laimsthat

Johannes"truths subjectivity"nConcludingnscientificostscript,ndMiguelde Unamunombraced hat laim.Of ll ofthebooks ontainednthe

fourteen olumes f the first dition fKierkegaard'sollectedwritings,I believe hatPostscriptas the most nfluentialnMiguelde Unamunosthought. e know hatUnamuno oundKierkegaardhrougheadingriti-cismof bsen's lays,1nd thathe ordered ll of the14 volumes fKierke-gaard's amledeVcerkers theywerepublishedrom 901 o 1906.2 achofthevolumess still xtantn the Casa MuseoUnamunonSalamanca ndcan be examined or hemarginal otationsontainedherein,omehavingmore

opiousntrieshan thers. hose

marginal otations,eally lossesn

theDanish, how he ubstantialxtent owhichUnamuno eadtheKierke-gaardian orpus.

However,he deasthatClimacus utlinesnPostscriptre theonesthatresonatemostwithUnamunondtheyre the nesthatmake heir ay ntoUnamunos ublished orks, othhisphilosophicalritingsndhis fiction.There reno ess han ine irectuotationsromostscriptnDel entimientotrdgicoe la vida. n other laces have xplored namunounderstandingand use of Climacus1iew f "indirectommunication."Here propose oshowhowMiguel e Unamuno nderstoodhedictumtruthssubjectivity,"

andhowthat nderstandingfClimacus' hemes woven hroughiswork.Climacus aysfamouslyhat, An bjective ncertainty,eld ast hrough

appropriationith hemostpassionatenwardness,s thetruth,hehigh-esttruth here s for n existing erson/'4here retwomajor lementsfClimacus'tatementhat re ofgreatestmportanceo Unamuno. he firststhenotion hatnorder or ruthomatter,tmust e lived.Abstract,hil-osophical peculations useless.Thephilosopher ustfirst e an existingperson.The other s the element fpassion, nwardness. assion s the"how"nthe ppropriationf truth. assion eads a person o action nd s

1Unamuno,Miguelde - "IbsenyKierkegaard."n: ObrasCompletas. ol. 3. Ed. byM. GarciaBlanco. Madrid:Escelicer,1968,p. 289.

2 In his Introduction oAn Unamuno SourceBook (Toronto:Universityf TorontoPress,1973),xx, n7,MarioValdes indicatesthat Unamunopurchasedeach ofthe volumes of Kierke-

gaard'sSamledeVcerkerublishedbyA. B. Drachmann nd J.L. Heiberg s theywerepublishedbetween 1901 and 1906.Allof the volumes are markedwithunderliningnd notesexceptVol-umes 5 and 8. Volume 5 containsPrefacesnd Three iscourseson ImaginedOccasions. Volume8 containsTwoAges.

3See ChapterOne of Unamuno ndKierkegaard:aths toSelfhoodn Fiction.Lanham,Md.:

LexingtonBooks, 2005, pp. 13-34,and "Passion, Paradox and IndirectCommunication:The

Influence fPostscriptn Miguelde Unamuno." n: KierkegaardtudiesYearbook, 005. EditedbyNielsJ0rgen appel0rnand HermannDeuser. Berlin:Walterde Gruyter,005,pp. 137-152.

4Kierkegaard,S0ren- ConcludingUnscientificostscript. ol. 1. Edited and translated yHowardand Edna Hong.Princeton: rincetonUniversityress, 1992,p. 203.

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Miguelde Unamuno nd Kierkegaard 1115

themeanswherebyruth ecomes ived. t is to a passionatexistence hat

Unamuno ants o awaken isreader.While heres evidence hatUnamunoappropriatestruths subjectivity,"here re some clear differenceshichcenter n the uthors' iew f he xistencefobjectiveruth.Wewill ee thatinembracinglimacus' all for assionwithoutegardo theobject f thepassion,Unamunosmisconstrueslimacus'meaningndpromotes viewthat snotfoundnClimacus,muchess nKierkegaardimself.namunosnot lone nmisconstruinglimacus'meaning.

Twenty-fiveears fKierkegaardcholarship ithwriterss diverse sRogerPoole5 and SylviaWalsh6has shown he mportanceftaking he

pseudonymousharacterfKierkegaard'sorpus eriously.hese cholars swellas many thers ave underscoredhefact hat n "TheFirst nd LastExplanation,"hichKierkegaarddds toPostscriptnder is ownname,heasksthat he deas and the onclusionsfhispseudonymsotbe attributedtohim.Kierkegaardimselfequests,Therefore,f t hould ccur oanyonetowantto quotea particular assagefrom hebooks, t is mywish,myprayer,hat ewilldomethekindnessf itinghe espectiveseudonymousauthor'same, otmine."7

Nevertheless,limacus' laim hat truthssubjectivity"as causedmanyto dentifyierkegaards a relativistecause hey ave nterpretedtruths

subjectivity"s "truthssubjective."ucha characterizationfKierkegaard'sthoughts unfortunatendwrongheadedor everal easons. obegin,t simportanto note hat heDanish s clear. houghhe djectiveubjektivesused n thetitle f therelevanthapter,hekeypassagereads,Men Uende-lighedensLidenskaber netop Subjektiviteteng saaledes er SubjektivitetenSandeden.8hetruthere s dentical ith he uality esignatedy henoun"subjectivity"Subjektiviteten)ndnotbythe djective subjective"subjek-tive).More mportants theentire ontextfthisrelevanthapterwhichshows hatClimacus'mphasissnoton the xistencefmultipleruths utrathernthe elevancefthe rutho the xister.9ven fClimacus ouldbeaccusedofpromotingcrass ort f "whatevers true oryou s true,"neshouldnot ttributehat iew oKierkegaard,ivenKierkegaard'slea ust

5Poole, Roger Kierkegaard:he ndirect ommunication. harlottesville:niversityressofVirginia, 993.

6Walsh, Sylvia - LivingPoetically:Kierkegaard'sxistentialAesthetics.University ark:

Pennsylvania tateUniversityress,1994.7Kierkegaard,S0ren- Postscript,it.,p. 627.8 Idem- Afsluttendevidenskabeligfterskrift.n: Samlede Vcerker. ol. 7. Kobenhaven:

Drachmann,Heibergog Lange, 1902,p. 169.9On thispointI relyheavilyon a chaptercalled, "Truth nd Subjectivity, n: Evans,C.

Stephen - Kierkegaard'sFragments"nd "Postscript": he ReligiousPhilosophy f JohannesClimacus.AtlanticHighlands,N.J.:HumanitiesPress,1983,pp. 115-135.

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1116 Jan e- Evans

quoted bove.No one should ssume hat heviewof oneofKierkegaard'spseudonymss identicalohisown.However,limacus imselfs not ffirm-ing ny uch rude elativism.

Tobegin,t s importantorecognizehatClimacus eals with wo ortsof truth tthe ametime. heir onfusionasgiven ise omisconceptionsaboutClimacus' iewoftruth. e talksboth bout"thenature f truthngeneral"nd alsoabout how n individualanbe inthe ruth'."10hefirsthas todowith ropositionalruthndthe econdwithwhatmakes life rue.The firsts abstract,oncerned ith eingn the deal ense, nd the econdhas to dowith owoneshould ive, eingnthe oncreteense.Both spects

of truth re importanto Unamuno. or Climacus ruthn the abstractsalways n approximation,ven f t s tied owhatwe would allempiricalreality.his s so becausetheobjectofknowledges constantlyhanging,and thepersonwho s attemptingo acquire hatknowledges constantlychangings well. herefore,hateverruths arrivedtmust e heldmodestly,knowinghat twill lways ivewaytogreaternsightndthen orrection.Byunderscoringhenature ftruths an approximation,limacustressesthefact hat heprocess f cquiringruths never inished.

WhatUnamuno akesfrom limacuss a viewof truthhat ncludeslarge mphasis nuncertaintynda rejectionftheview hathumans ver

have he ruths a final ossession. namunoails gainst llwho hinkhatthey ave rrivedt the ruth.Para llosnohay uemantesagrimasertidasensilencio,n el silencio elmisterio,orque sosbarbarose lo creen enertodoresuelto;araellosnohay nquietudelalma,puesse creen acidos nposesionde la verdad bsoluta."11 ithClimacusUnamunowants oholdwhateverruthhere smodestly,hich s oneofthereasons hatUnamunospeaksoutagainstdogmatism.n theclosest tatement e have ofwhatUnamuno as about nall ofhiswork esays,

Pero es que mi obra- iba a decirmimision es quebrantara fede unosyde otrosydelosterceros,a fe n a afirmacion,a fe n a

negaciona fe n a abstenci6n esto

porfeen la femisma; s combatir todos os que se resignan,ea al catolicismo,eaal racionalismo,ea al agnosticismo;s hacer uevivan odos nquietos anhelantes.12

Theuse of heverb uebrantarere spointed. namuno oesnot ay hathewants odestroyaith,aithnthe ffirmative,aithnthenegative,aithinabstentionrfaithnfaithtself. ather, e wants odisturb nes faithinanything.namuno oesnotwant nyone o be resignedo a particulardogma ecause, or im, ll of ife s a longinghat hould ever eassuaged."Yel alma,mialmaal menos, nhelaotra osta:noabsorcion, oquietud,

10Ibidem, . 116.11Unamuno,Miguelde - Vidade Don QuijoteySancho. In: Obrascompletas,it.vol.3,p. 226.12Idem Del sentimientordgico e la vida. In: Obrascompletas, it.,vol.7,pp. 297-298.

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nopaz,no apagamiento,inoeterno cercarse in legarnunca, nacabable

anhelo, terna speranza ue eternamentee renueva inacabarsedel todonunca."13nderstandablyhen, e saysthat t s hispurpose o awakenhisreader otheneedfor his onging. Hayque inquietaros espiritus enfu-saren ellos losprojimos]uertesnhelos,un a sabiendas equeno han dealcanzarnunca o anhelado."14

Ultimately,ncertaintysthefoundationfUnamunotragicense f ife."Elescepticismo,a incertidumbre...s el fundamentoobre ue la desespe-racion el sentimientoitalha de fundaruesperanza."15his s the onclu-sionthatUnamuno omestoinChapter ixof Del sentimientordgicoe la

vida, fter e has surveyedhepossibilitieshat eason ffords ormeaningin life and found easonbankruptecause it cannotprovethatone willsurvivehis ife.To reasonhe juxtaposes he onging or mmortalityhatone heart eclaresmust ethe asebutforwhich heres no rational asis.He then sksfor hedespair ftheheart o embrace he kepticismfreasonlike brothernd ivefrom he nsuingension. o compromisespossiblefrom isperspective.

Onemight easonablysk,"Is thiswhatClimacus adinmindwhenhemaintainedhat mpiricalruthsanapproximation?"heres a verympor-tant ifferenceetween limacusndUnamuno.When limacussdiscussing

thefact hat ven mpiricalruthmust lways e consideredn approxima-tion othe ruth,emakes n exception.hat xceptionothepresumptionof pproximationsGod,becausefromheperspectivefGod,fromternity,truthanbeknown ompletely.ForGod,presumablyecausehe is eternalandseesfromhe ternal oint fview, ruthbout mpiricalctualitymaybeperfectndnotmerelypproximative."16hismeans hat limacusffirmsthe xistencefobjectiveruth,ven fweas humans annot nowt.

Thisexceptionepresentsdifferenceetween limacus ndUnamuno.Climacus ays, Existencetselfs a system forGod,but t cannotbe a

system or nyexistingexisterende]pirit."17limacus ssumesthat here

istruth,ruthhat sknown yGod, ven f hat ruthsnot vailable o theexister. namunohas no equivalent oundationalenseofobjective ruthfound n God. Unamuno quivocates n theexistence f God,preciselybecauseHisexistenceannot eproven ationally.namuno answer o the

question DoesGodexist?"s thathe cannotknow. orUnamuno owanttobelievesbelief, hetherrnottheres objectivelynyGodtobelieven.

13Ibidem,p. 260.14

Unamuno,Miguelde-

VidadeDon QuijoteySancho,cit,p. 155.15Idem Del sentimientordgico,it.,p. 172.16Evans,C. Stephen Kierkegaard'sFragments"nd "Postscript,"it.,p. 118.17Kierkegaard,S0ren- Postscript,it.,p. 118.

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11 18 Jan E. Evans

"[Lafe]no esen suesencia inocosa devoluntad,o derazon, omo reer s

querer reer, creer n Dios ante odoysobre odo s querer ue lehaya."18Todefine elief s thedesire o believe oes not ound overy ifferentromClimacus,utClimacuss clear bout he bject f hedesire.Hesays hat hepersonwho eeks o knowGodsubjectively,At hat erymoment... asGod,notbyvirtue f ny bjectiveeliberationutbyvirtuef he nfiniteassionof nwardness/'19limacus' mphasiss on thefact hat bjectiveruth orhumans annot e gained hroughpeculationutratherhroughxistence,but hedoes notequivocatebouttheexistencefobjectiveruth. limacussays, the od Guden] escues rom elusion hepersonwho nquiet nward-nessand honest efore od s concernedor

himself;ven

hougheis ever

so simple,hegod eadshim nthe ufferingf nwardnessothetruth."20Eventhough namunond Climacus iffern the xistencefobjective

truth,heyre nagreementith hefact hat ruthmust e lived.Climacus'foremostoncerns therelationshipf thetruth othe exister.he reasonforClimacus tarting ith hematter ftruthngenerals to show he imi-tations fabstract,dealistichought.or truth obe truthtmust ffectheexistencef the knower.That heknowingpirits an existingpirit,ndthat very uman eing s sucha spirit xistingorhimself,cannot epeatoftennough."21namuno ejectsbstracthoughtnthe ameway nd uses

Climacus omakehispoint.n Del sentimientordgicoe la vida Unamunoquotes very ongpassagefrom Actual nd Ethical ubjectivity,"hichnpart ays,

But abstraction oes not care about whether particular xisting umanbeing simmortal,nd just that s thedifficulty.t is disinterested,ut thedifficultyf exis-tence s theexisting ersons nterest,nd theexisting erson s infinitelynterestedinexisting... herefore, henone considered n abstract hinker ho is unwillingomake clear to himself nd to admit he relation is abstract hinkingas to hisbeingandexisting erson,he makes comicexpression,ven fhe is ever o distinguished,because he is abouttocease tobe a humanbeing.22

From theverybeginningf Del sentimientordgicoe la vida,whenspeakingf theman"decarneyhueso,"Unamunotresses hat ntellectualposturingndeven he ursuitf cientific,mpiricalruths worthlessnlessonebalances hat nowledge ithmattershat re mportanto theheart.Siun filosofo o es unhombre,s todo menosunfilosofo;s,sobre odo,unpedante, s decir, n remedo e hombre... el mastragico e la filosofiaes el de conciliaras necesidades ntelectualeson las necesidades fectivas

18Unamuno,Miguelde - Del sentimientordgico,it.,p. 177.19

Kierkegaard,S0ren-Postscript,it.,p. 200.20Ibidem,p. 615.

21Idem,p. 189.22Idem,p. 302.

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ycon as volitivas."23namuno ivesDescartes s an example fa philoso-pherwho, fhe had been uccessfulnhis ttempto doubt verything,ouldhavebeenpreciselyhis ort fpseudo-philosopher,ne whoputaside therealmanwhocares bouthis mmortalityor he akeofabstraction. t heendof he hapter,Elhombre e carneyhueso,"Unamuno oints o modelsof men nhistory hoare concerned ithwisdom f theheart ather hanabstractnowledge,nd he namesKierkegaards one of hose.

One ofthemostmisunderstoodassages fPostscripts a famous ne nwhich limacusuxtaposeswo ndividuals.ne s a person ivingnChristi-anitywith heknowledgefGodwho nters churchndpraysn"untruth."

The other s a paganwhoprayswithpassionto an idol. Climacus sks,"Where,hen,s theremore ruth?heonepraysntruth o Godalthougheisworshipingnidol; he ther raysn untruthothe rueGod and sthere-forentruth orshipingn idol."24 anyhave oncludedhatwhatClimacusis saying ere s that heres noobjectiveruth,hat ruthnlydepends nthepassionwithwhich hetruths held.C. Stephen vanspoints ut thatClimacuss notprimarilyealingwith ropositionalruth ere;he is askingonly bout"livedife,"boutwhat ort f ived ife an be consideredo be"true."vans tates,Climacuss not ssertinghe bsurd hesis hat omeonecanmake false ropositionruefonlyhe believest ntheright ay...He

is sayinghat person oes notexist rue-lyyknowing hat s objectivelytrue."25 hat s importantorClimacuss that persons xistencee trans-formedythetruth. hetruths realized nlywhen t s actedupon.That

personwhoallowshisexistenceo be permeatedythetruth an be saidto be "in thetruth."n order o makehispoint, limacus ssumes hat he

pagansview s false, ut n so doing,hewants o underscorehefact hateventhough hepagansview s false, heremaybe sometruthn hislife.Climacus' iew hat heresobjectiveruth both ruthboutGodand truthforGod iscrucial ere.

In anessay

of 1906,"<;Que

s verdad,"t wouldseemthatUnamunounderstandshe mportfClimacus'laimhere.nithe excoriateshosewhowould bstractruthntodivisionsikemetaphysical,ogical ndmoral ruthwith mpenetrableefinitions.orUnamuno heonly ruthhatmatterssmoral ruthndthat s thecase because tis lived ruth.n a challengeothe fficialatholic hurchhats reminiscentfKierkegaard'sttackn theDanishLutheran hurch, namuno eclares hat he tatementhat painis a Catholicountrys a lie.Neitherhosewhoare npowernormanywhoattendmassknowwhat hey elieve,ndthe videncesthat heirives renot

23Unamuno,Miguelde - Del sentimientordgico,it.,p. 118.24Kierkegaard,S0ren- Postscript,it.,p. 201.25Evans,C. Stephen Kierkegaard'sFragments"nd "Postscript,"it.,p. 126.

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1120 Jan e- Evans

anydifferents a result f heir eliefs. limacusays omethingeryimilar,

and Unamuno nderlinedt. If he ndividuals not hangedndcontinuallychangedwithin imself,he ntroducingfChristianitynto countrys nomore religiousction han he onqueringf ountries."26namuno ointsoutthatmanyaythat hey elieve he eachingsf heHolyMother hurch,but are really gnorantf thoseteachings. e says,"En medicina uedecurarmea ciencia emimedico,unqueyonosepani haciadondemecaeelhigado; ero nreligion opuede alvarmea fedemiconfesor.nla vidadelespirituolomiverdadmesalva,ymiverdad oes la verdad uedesconozco,aunquesea esta a verdad e los demas."27With s muchfervors Kierke-

gaard,Unamunotates hat o

longs the ie that

pains a Catholic

ountryisperpetuated,painwillnotbeChristian.Thespirit fthepassagementionedboveabout theChristiannd the

pagan s evidentnthis ssay.At hebeginningnamunotates,Valemas elerror nquesecree ueno a realidad nqueno se cree."28willgoso far stosaythatUnamuno ad thevision f theChristiannd thepagan n mindwhenhesaysthat hepersonwho cannot onceive fGod ntellectually,utwho ongs or im oexist nd so orders is ife o reflecthat esire, elievesin God muchmore han hepersonwhogivesntellectualssent utwhoselife s completelynchanged. namunomaybe describingimself henhe

says,El que no pudiendo oncebir on la inteligenciaa esencia de Dios,considerandouidea una hipotesis ue nada explica,y purossofismas os que llamanpruebasde suexistencia, esea, sin embargo, n su corazonque Dios existay se acomoda a unaconductaparaconEl, dandopersonalidadl Ideal Supremo, ree en Dios muchomasque aquel otro ue estaconvencidoogicamentee que existe nDios,peroparanadalo tiene ncuenta, solopara ustificaru culto la mentira.29

The conclusion fthe ssay, <^Ques verdad?" ould eem o conformoClimacus' iew ftruth. ortruthobetruth,trequires assion nd action."Ybien, n resumen:quees verdad? erdad s loquesecreede todo orazon

y con toda el alma.<< que es creer lgode todo corazonytoda el alma?Obrar onforme ello."30 owever,here s a significantifferenceetweenClimacus viewof truth nd Unamuno. Unamuno eredoes notdealwiththe uestion fwhetherr not here sobjectiveruth,ut nDel sentimientotrdgicoe a vidahe does.ThereUnamunouotes irectlyrom hepassage nPostscriptbout heChristianndpaganpraying,hough isSpanishmakes

26Kierkegaard,S0ren- Postscript,it.,p. 433.27Unamuno,Miguelde - "iQue es la verdad?" n: ObrasCompletas.Vol. 3. Ed. byM. Garcia

Blanco. Madrid:Escelicer, 1968,p. 863.28Ibidem,p. 855.29Idem,p. 859.30Idem,p. 864.

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Miguel de Unamuno and Kierkegaard 1121

it more f paraphrasehan translation.Si de dos hombres dice Kierke-

gaard rezaeluno al verdadero ios con nsinceridadersonal, el otro onla pasiontodade la infinitudeza a unidolo, s el primerol que en reali-dadora a un idolo,mientrasue el segundo ra en verdad Dios."31Ifoftwomen,Kierkegaardays, neprays o thetrueGod with ersonalnsin-cerity,nd the ther rayswith hepassion f nfinityo an idol, t s thefirstwhoprayednrealityo an idoland the econdwhopraysntruth oGod.)32What s interestings thefact hatUnamuno oeson to correct limacus, rperhaps aywhathewishedClimacus ad said."Mejor s decir ue es Diosverdadero quel quien e rezayse anhelade verdad."33or Unamuno hetrueGodis theone towhom he

person ruly raysndtheone whom he

person rulyongs or. oes thisGodexist bjectivelyutside person expe-rience fhim?

UnamunondicateshatGods existences dependentn ourexperienceofhimwhenhesays, Eseenquecrees,ector,se es tuDios,elqueha vividocontigontiynaciocontigo fuenifio uando rastunino,yfuehaciendosehombreegun u te haciashombre que se tedisipacuandotedisipas..."34Inotherwords,heGodyoubelieven dieswhenyoudie.But then eseemsto echoSaintAugustine henhe says, Y esteDios,el Dios vivo, uDios,nuestro ios,estaenmi, sta enti,vive nnosotros,nosotros ivimos,os

movemos somosenEl. Y estaennosotros orel hambre ue de El tene-mos,porel anhelo,haciendonospetecer."35n this ase it s God,clearlybeing utsidemyself,hocreatesn me a "Godshapedhollow" hat ausesthe onginghat an onlybe filled yhimself.t is notunlikeUnamuno o

consciouslypeak nparadoxicalermsbout hose onceptshat re difficulttograsp.He doesnotwant ocomedown none sideof his ssueofwhetheror not heres objectiveruthrwhether odexists.He wants o ive nthetensionf hedifficultiesfknowing,s he ndicatesn the astparagraphsfthis hapter,

<<xisteDios?Esa persona ternal eternizadoraueda sentido yno afiadire umano,

porquenohay tro al Universo,<s algosustancial uera e nuestra onsciencia, uerade nuestronhelo?He aqui algo nsoluble, valemasque asi lo sea. Bastele la raz6n

31Unamuno,Miguelde - Del sentimientordgico,it.,p. 214.32The Hong translationn Englishhas thepassage, "If someonewho lives in the midstof

Christianitynters,withknowledge fthetrue dea ofGod, the house ofGod, thehouse ofthe

trueGod, and praysbutprays n untruth,nd ifsomeone lives n an idolatrous and butprayswith ll thepassion of nfinity,lthoughhis eyesare resting pon the mageof an idol - where,

then, s theremore truth?The one praysin truth o God althoughhe is worshiping n idol;the otherprays in untruth o the true God and is thereforen truthworshiping n idol."

Kierkegaard,S0ren-Postscript,it.,p. 201.33Unamuno,Miguelde - Del sentimientordgico,it.,p. 214.

34Ibidem,p. 215.35Idem,p. 214.

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el no poderprobar a imposibilidad e su existencia. reer n Dios es anhelar ue le

haya yes, ademas,conducirse omosi le hubiera; s vivir e ese anheloyhacerde elnuestrontimo esorte e action.36

So to believenGod s to ongforhim o exist. hat s enough o makehimthe ource four ctions.

WhileUnamunoultimatelea s for he xistingerson o ongforGodexistencend ive s though odexists, e leaves he uestion f God's xis-tence,insoluble."oing ack othe assage bout heChristianndthe agan,Climacus oes not ay hat heperson rayingn thepassion f nfinityo theidol s prayingo thetrueGod,as Unamuno ranslateshepassage.Rather,

Climacus sks, Wheres theremore ruth?"hepoint s havinghe right"beliefnthe rueGod sworthlessfthat eliefs not ived.Andhispoint snot that hepagansbeliefs retrue, ut that hepaganhimself as "moretruth"nhis life. n order o arrive t objectiveruth,nemust ome at itsubjectively.utClimacusdoes assumethat here s objectiveruth o beknownwhenhesays, Justs importants the ruth,nd of he wo he venmoremportantne, s themode n which he ruthsaccepted."37

The ast lement f truthssubjectivity"hatmust eexploredf ne s tounderstandnamunoreceptionfClimacus' iew sthe lementfpassion.For Climacus assion s the ink etween bstractpeculationnd true xis-

tence.Onemay peculateboutmultiple ossibilities,utthosepossibilitieshold no truth or he ndividual ntil he ndividualtopsthespeculativeprocess nd takes step, leap,thatputsone into ction.Climacus ays,"reflectionan be stopped nlybya leap."38t is passionthat mpels ndempowersheexistero choose nd to act on that hoice.Unamuno nder-lined he ollowingnPostscripthat oncludes he aragraphbout heneces-sity f the eap."Yet t s assumed hat eflectionan stop tselfbjectively,whereas t s usttheotherway round; eflectionannot e stopped bjecti-vely,nd when t sstopped ubjectivelytdoes not top f ts wn ccord, utit s the ubjectwhostops t."39n order or hetruth o be appropriatedninwardness,he ndividualtops he peculationnd takes he eap,the tepthat eadsto action.

Itwould eemthatUnamuno mbraces uch a view fpassionatectionin the"^Quees verdad?" ssayas quotedabove. He maintains here hattruths what he heart elieves ndputs nto ction, ction naccordancewith hebelief. urther,n theessayentitledEl sepulcro e DonQuijote,"thatUnamuno laced t thebeginningf the econd dition f Vidade Don

36Idem,pp. 218-219.37Kierkegaard,S0ren- Postscript,it.,p. 247.

38Ibidem,p. 115.39Idem.

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Quijote Sancho,he makes sweepingtatementhat eems o hold rue or

many f hisprotagonists,ndtherefore e can take eriouslys a founda-tional tatementrom heauthor.t says/'Procuraivir n continuo ertigopasional, ominado orunapasioncualquiera. olo los apasionados levana cabo obrasverdaderamenteuraderas."40he context ere s the toryfDonQuijote,ndUnamuno everes imbecause fhispassion.DonQuijotepassion s themodelforUnamunos rotagonists.t he ndofthePrologueto SanManuel ueno,mdrtir,namunoquatesDonManuel, hepriest ro-tagonist,nd Don Quijote. Y no quiero qui comentar amas el martiriode Don Quijoteni de Don ManuelBueno,martiriosuijotescosos dos"41

ForUnamuno othDon

Quijotend Don ManuelBueno ive "in thetruth"

because hey ave ppropriatedheirruthnthepassion f nwardnesshatleads to action.Theyboth"carryut works hat re truly nduring."onQuijote ightshewrongshatheperceives,ven hough thers o notper-ceive hemn the ameway. onManuel, hepriest, ives is ifenserviceohisparishionersith bsolute assion, ven hough e cannot elieve.

Aswe saw earlier, namuno ees as hiswork, ismission, hetask ofwaking isreader opassionatexistence.n partUnamunowascalling orhis reader o carepassionatelybout mmortality,hichfollowsogicallyfromnother uotefrom ostscripthichUnamuno nderlined.Butthe

expressionor heutmostxertionfsubjectivitys the nfinitelyassionateinterestn ts ternal appiness."42orUnamunohe uestionf mmortalityis thekey uestion or ll ofus,and it s theone thatwe should aremost

passionatelybout.Whilehe saysofhimself,Noquieromorirme, o; no

quiero, iquiero uererlo;uieroviviriempre,iempre,iempre, vivir o,estepobreyoquemesoyymesiento er horay aqui,y porestometorturael problema e la duracion e mialma,de la miapropia,"43e challengesothers ysaying, Solo los debilesse resignan la muerte inaly susti-

tuyenonotro l anhelode inmortalidadersonal. n los fuertesl ansiade

perpetuidadobrepuja la dudade lograrla, su rebosedevida se viertel

masaliade a muerte."44Thedesire or erpetuitysthepassion hat vercomesoubt, ut t hould

benoted hatUnamuno senseof"overcomingoubt"svery nlike hat fClimacus.Unamunowants oretain kepticismnd doubt ustas passion-ately s hedeclares hat nemust,with heheart,ongformmortality.ecallsformaintaininghetension etween eason ndfeeling,heheadand

40Unamuno,Miguelde - Vidade Don QuijoteySancho,cit.,p. 58.41

Idem San ManuelBueno,mdrtir.n: Obrascompletas, it.,vol. 2.,p. 1123.42Kierkegaard,Soren- Postscript,it.,p. 53.43Unamuno,Miguelde - Del sentimientordgico,it.,p. 136.44Ibidem,p. 139.

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Miguel de Unamuno and Kierkegaard 1125

the ast sections hat heremarkablehings that here s a "How" with hecharacter-

istic hatwhen he How" sscrupulouslyendered he What" s also given,nd this stheHow of "faith".50

The "what"hat s alsogivens notpart f Unamuno view ftruth,ndthis ort fKierkegaardianfaith"hat sgroundedna Godwho sthere,ndnotust onged or,s not hared yUnamuno.

To conclude,heres much nClimacus' iew hat truths subjectivity"that s attractiveo Unamuno.We have seenfrom ismorephilosophicalworksike ^Quees verdad?",el sentimientordgicoe la vidaandLa vidade DonQuijote Sancho hatUnamunoppropriateswo mportantlements

ofClimacus' iew:1) in order or rutho be truthtmust e lived nd2) thenecessary ovementrombstractiono actions foundnpassion.In a furthertudyt wouldbe fascinatingnd beneficialo tracehow

these oncepts reworked ut nthecharactersf Unamunos iction. ustoneexamplemust ufficeor ow.FromClimacus'toryftheChristianndthepaganUnamuno leans hat hetrueGodis theonethat sworshippedin truth. onManuelofSan ManuelBueno,mdrtiras beenmentioneds

havinghepassion hatUnamunoees as necessary.e is also theonewholives utthe ruthhathe ongs obelieve utcan't. s Unamuno eregivingflesh o the dea that, rom ispoint fview, on Manuel s living in the

truth"ecausehe is acting assionately,acrificially,ven hough e cannotbelieven God?DonManuel oeswhatUnamunodvocatesnDelsentimiento

trdgicoe avida.He leaves o onesidethe nsolublematterfGod's xistenceandheacts s though od existed ith isparishioners.e is torturedyhisunbelief,uthe s ivingn the trugglehatUnamuno emands.

Climacuswould aythatDonManuel'sife,ike hepagan's,s filledwithsometruth. e hasa passionwhich hapeshisactions. utClimacuswouldalsosay hat onManuelhaschosen assionate oubt atherhan assionatebelief. e hasnot topped he peculation,as notreallymade thedecision

that equireshe eap.Further,onManuel'sssertionhat Todas as reli-

giones onverdaderas,"51s not omethingithwhich limacuswould gree,much ess Kierkegaard.Truths subjectivity"as nevermeantto mean"truths subjective."ather, limacus cknowledgeshat heres objectivetruth,uthisconcerns that heexistingndividualan only rrive t that

objectiveruthubjectively.ierkegaardould ayofDonManuel hat aithis not ustembracingncertainty.ather,aith esolves ncertainty.fyouhave hepassion f nwardness,ouhave ncounteredod.Becausetheresa God,passion anconnect s tohim.

50Kierkegaard,S0ren - SorenKierkegaard'sournals nd Papers.Edited and translatedbyHowardand Edna Hong.Vol. 4. Bloomington:ndiana Universityress,1967-1978, 550.

51Unamuno,Miguelde - San ManuelBueno,mdrtir,it.,p. 1142.

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