Two Upbuilding Discourses (1843)

Two Upbuilding Discourses is a book by Søren Kierkegaard published in 1843.

Two Upbuilding Discourses

Author	Søren Kierkegaard
Original title	To opbyggelige Taler
Language	Danish
Series	First authorship (Discourses)
Genre	Christianity, philosophy
Publisher	Bookdealer P. G. Philipsen
Publication date	May 16, 1843
Publication place	Denmark
Published in English	1943 – first translation
Preceded by	Either/Or
Followed by	Fear and Trembling Three Upbuilding Discourses Repetition

History

Kierkegaard published Two Upbuilding Discourses three months after Either/Or, which ended without a conclusion to the argument between A, the aesthete, and B, the ethicist, as to which is the best way to live one's life.

In 1832, Hegel argued against Christianity by saying that knowledge is not something hurtful to faith but helpful. He says philosophy (the love of knowledge) "has the same content as religion." This is due, in part, to the efforts of "Anselm and Abelard, who further developed the essential structure of faith" in the Middle Ages.^[1]

Upbuilding was translated as Edifying in 1946 when David F. Swenson first translated them. They became Upbuilding Discourses in Howard V. Hong's translation of 1990.

Structure

The first two discourses are titled:

1. "The Expectancy of Faith"
2. "Every Good and Every Perfect Gift is From Above"

Reception

Kierkegaard sold 200 copies of the Discourses and only one editor reviewed it. Either/Or was reviewed by both Meïr Aron Goldschmidt and Johan Ludvig Heiberg. The Two Discourses had to wait until 1927 to be noticed and was not translated into English until 1946, when David F. Swenson translated the eighteen discourses and published them in four volumes.^[2] Hong later translated and compiled them in 1990 into one volume.^[3]

Criticism

Walter Lowrie said the Two Discourses were an "either/or" meant for Regine Olsen. His general approach to the discourses was how they related to the outer aspects of Kierkegaard's life; especially his relationship with Olsen.^[4] He also mentions that his Upbuilding Discourses were "tardily translated" by the Germans "for the sake of completing the edition". "Therefore, since these works were not available to students the pseudonyms works were not rightly understood."^[5]