Will, belief and faith: Kierkegaard's volitionalism in the context of contemporary debates

Irina, Nicolae (2004) Will, belief and faith: Kierkegaard's volitionalism in the context of contemporary debates. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Many of the participants in the analytical debate on the relation between belief and will have closely considered S0ren Kierkegaard's volitionalist account of the issue. I argue that the attempt to understand the nature of volitionalism requires a closer investigation of Kierkegaard's perspective on the nature of faith. -- In Chapter One, I offer the conceptual framework in which I will discuss the problem of volitionalism, distinguishing between the epistemic and the foundational role of belief. I show that the will has an important role to play in relation to our beliefs, especially when we lack epistemic justification. -- In Chapter Two, I investigate the main features and issues in volitionalism. I address the distinctions between direct vs. indirect volitionalism, and descriptive vs. prescriptive volitionalism, in order to integrate correctly Kierkegaard's account into the contemporary debate on the nature of volitionalism. -- In Chapter Three, I argue in support of my thesis that Kierkegaard's volitionalism is a special sort of direct volitionalism, which is concerned with the role of the will, not in relation to the acquisition of belief, but rather to its actualization. The conclusion reached in this thesis is that Kierkegaard claims that the will enables us to move, through choice, from a set of belief possibilities characterized by "objective uncertainty" to the subjective actuality of belief and existential commitments.

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