Kierkegaard: An Essential Introduction by Michael Watts (PDF)

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“Best single source on Kierkegaard I’ve seen. Excellent short biography of his life and family. Fantastic explanation of how to approach Kierkegaard’s ideas… I did spend a lot of time on the Danish philosopher’s work as a graduate student (particularly Fear and Trembling) and I do wish that I had had this at the time” (Austin Cline, online review at atheism.about.com; full review at http://atheism.about.com/od/bookreviews/fr/Kierkegaard.htm)”A reader’s delight … his presentation of Kierkegaard’s thought is crystalline, concise, and compelling… Michael Watts has succeeded in presenting the nuanced and multilayered thought of Kierkegaard in a very readable manner.” (review in “Review of Metaphysics”, Vol. 58 (3), March 2005. pp. 689. by Roy Martinez, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Spelman College.Clarifies in crystal clear, jargon free, highly readable prose, Kierkegaard’s use of pseudonym, irony, humour and parable, and all the core themes of Kierkegaard’s writings that best exemplify the essence of his work: his thoughts on anxiety, despair, subjective truth and faith, and the purpose of life. Widely endorsed by eminent professors of philosophy, it is a perfect choice for students of Kierkegaard and for complete newcomers. No other introduction provides such an in-depth analysis of Fear and Trembling, the central work of Kierkegaard’s authorship, and such a comprehensive coverage of his understanding of death awareness, which he regarded as a prerequisite for true spiritual development. Embedded in the pages of this book are ideas that are as relevant today to the fundamental concerns of our modern existence, as they were during Kierkegaard’s time – metaphors and truths of existence that when experienced subjectively, will overwhelm and enlighten receptive readers with insights that can lead to genuine inner transformation and profound personal growth.About the AuthorPhilosophy Publications:1. The Philosophy of Heidegger, Acumen Publishing, Durham (2011)2. Kierkegaard, Oneworld Publications, Oxford (2003)3. Heidegger: A Beginner’s Guide, Hodder and Stoughton Educational, London, (2001) 4. Heidegger: A Beginner’s Guide, Spanish Language Edition: Heidegger Guia para Jovenes, Logues Ediciones, Madrid (2003)5. Heidegger: A Beginner’s Guide, Korean Language Edition: Korean Translation Joong-Ang Inc. Seoul, (2006) Psychology Publications:6. Doodle Interpretation: A Beginner’s Guide, Hodder and Stoughton Educational, London (2000)7. Lovescript: What Handwriting Reveals About Love & Romance, St Martins Griffin, New York, (1996)8. The Naked Hand: Sexuality Revealed Through Handwriting, Headline Book Publishing, London (1995)9. Graphology: What Your Handwriting Reveals About You, Your Friends and Your Enemies, Simon & Schuster, New York (1991)Michael Watts graduated with honors in 1980 in Experimental Psychology, (Sussex University, UK). Continuing with post-graduate research in Graphology, he became a personnel consultant for companies worldwide, and in 1983 assisted the Security Commission in Whitehall.Writing for numerous magazines and national newspapers in the UK and USA, he has also been a frequent guest on radio and television (ITV, BBC and Sky News channels).An independent scholar and writer, his specialist interests are in philosophy, in particular in the practical application of East Asian thinking and Western Existentialism. His philosophy publications have been extremely well received by his peers in the academic community worldwide – see Julian Baginni’s review of Heidegger: A Beginner’s Guide, in “The Philosophers Magazine” (UK) and Professor Roy Martinez’ review of Kierkegaard (Review of Metaphysics, USA). Michael is also an avid practitioner of Tai Chi and QiGong and enjoys alpine hanggliding.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Mr. Watts provides an excellent introduction to the basic ideas of Kierkegaard for an audience of beginners. I thoroughly recommend this book.

⭐Very clear, comprehensive, and as helpful as one can expect from a secondary source. This book is a perfect preparation to get one ready to start reading Kierkegaard, or it can be read on its own to great benefit. Either way, I found it to be a deeply stimulating experience.

⭐I wrote a review in Good Reads

⭐What an absolute pleasure it was to finally read a book on Kierkegaard that not only gets to the salient themes & thought of `The Father Of Existentialism’ but also presents them in a readily understandable manner. Michael Watts has added a very important source book to the ever-expanding library of literary works on Kierkegaard. He has been able to distill Kierkegaard’s complex original works into meaningful & manageable vignettes that compel the serious reader to seek out & explore more of the Danish philosopher’s works. Michael Watts’ work on Kierkegaard invites the reader to stop, look & listen to personal `truths’ in Kierkegaard’s works that one can be guided by in one’s own ongoing process of becoming the `self’.

⭐Michael Watts’ book is superb in its expounding K’s thinking throughout this text. My impression is that Watts writes from a complete understanding of K’s works that goes deeper than the mere intellect. K would approve of this book I’m sure. It gives much encouragement for further reading and reflection in each of its chapters with ample quotations from K to illustrate each point. This is a fine starting point for anyone to begin the journey into the thought of K. Highly recommended.

⭐This is an excellent introduction to Kierkegaard for people who are interested in his work but never read his book, just like myself. Thankfully, this book happened to be as page turner – I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Look forward to read Kierkegaard work.

⭐I’ve read quite a few books on Kierkegaard already, trying to wrap my head around his way of thinking. It wasn’t until reading this book that I had a “eureka” moment, where I finally just got it. The author’s style is very different from the others. He uniquely marries the biography of Kierkegaard’s life with his philosophy. This gives so much more context to his ideas and thought process in a way that helps beginners better understand the very complex subject matter. The author states that Kierkegaard is “not an easy read” – and it isn’t. But this book is the best effort I’ve seen in making the study of Kierkegaard as lucid as possible.

⭐An excellent and easy to read resume of Kierkegaard’s work and philosophy . He is a difficult man to understand but Watts does a fine job in his elucidation of the main ideas.

⭐This is a briliant analysis and summary of most difficult philosopher

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