This dissertation is an examination of Søren Kierkegaard‘s understanding of authority in the years of the second-authorship (1846-1855). By analyzing this central concept in his thought, I provide a window through which to interpret Kierkegaard‘s understanding of human reason and the relationship of his thought to the modern philosophical paradigm.

In chapter one I analyze Kierkegaard‘s critique of Adolph Peter Adler, a Danish pastor who claimed to have received a divine revelation. I argue that Kierkegaard‘s critique is inconsistent with his claim that there are no rational criteria by which an authority-claim can be evaluated. In chapter two I examine Kierkegaard‘s treatment of Scriptural and pastoral authority in his attack on the Danish Church and argue that these authorities should be understood as instances of two broader types of authority present in Kierkegaard‘s thought. In chapter three I address Kierkegaard‘s understanding of his own authority. I argue that he is consistent in claiming not to have either authority of office or apostolic authority and that he denies the existence of authority of genius. In chapter four I examine Kierkegaard‘s critique of the modern approach to religion and argue that his fundamental criticism is that in seeking to understand Christianity modern religion is acting in disobedience to authority. In chapter five I analyze Kierkegaard‘s critique of the modern conception of social and political authority. I argue that the primacy of the individual and the nature of true equality play a foundational role in his critique and through the lens of these two issues offer an interpretation of his views on democratic voting and the pursuit of social equality.

Throughout these chapters an account of the authority of human reason emerges that is deeply conflicted and marked by pervasive tension. While on the one hand Kierkegaard vehemently reacts against modernity‘s elevation of human reason, on the other hand his own treatment of the authority of human reason betrays tacit acceptance of that very tradition. Kierkegaard‘s understanding of the concept of authority thus reveals both the complexity of his response to the modern philosophical paradigm as well as his profound indebtedness to it.