| dc.description.abstract | Kierkegaard has been referred to as the father of existentialism, a view which he seems not to
subscribe to. In his philosophy, he claims to have presented a clear ethical position concerning
his usage of the decisional process which he presents as subjective in nature. But a closer
reading of his works reveal that, he not only uses it as he claims but also, presents it as collective
in nature; hence, he presents an apparent logical contradiction. This variation seemingly makes
him appear to contradict himself consequently raising the question of lack of clarity. In the
context of this, there is need to critically appraise Kierkegaard' s sentiments as reflected in his
decisional process. In the milieu of this, the study critically appraises Kierkegaard's ethical
thought surrounding his concept of the decisional process so that it can be clarified. Specific
objectives were to; determine whether or not Kierkegaard's ethical philosophy is subjective or
collective in nature, and examine the extent to which the' decisional process influences
Kierkegaard's ethical philosophy. The conceptual framework that guided the study was adopted
from Edmund Husserl's phenomenological reduction and Jean-Paul Sartre's existence as
preceding essence for human beings. Common to these two is that phenomenology works with
the data of consciousness and its goal is a penetration to the essence of things. The phenomena
of freedom which informs Kierkegaard's ethical thought, supposedly lies in consciousness, and
thus ought to be examined in such a way that its essences are revealed. The study relied on
primary texts authored by Kierkegaard and secondary texts consisting of a critical survey of
written works on his personality. The study engaged the critical, dialectical and evaluative
methods of philosophical inquiry. The study found out that: Kierkegaard's ethical philosophy is
collective in nature; and, that the decisional process influences the ethical subject to the extent
that it rctualizes itself. The study recommends that; Kierkegaard's collectivity should embrace
social existence to grant his ethical thought a humanistic tinge; Kierkegaard's affirmation of the
universalistic character of ethics on account of its irrational character is unwarranted; and, the
role of reason should be appreciated in giving the ethical individual. the bearing he seeks to
pursue. The findings may enhance understanding of Kierkegaardian ethics among scholars and
thus foster curriculum development. The study proposes cross-cultural philosophical dialogues
as an area for further research. | en_US |
