Looking for a source in Kierkegaard

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on locating the original source of a quote attributed to Søren Kierkegaard, as referenced by William Barrett in his book "Irrational Man." The quote is a loose paraphrase from Kierkegaard's "Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift til de philosophiske Smuler" (Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments), specifically found on page 140 of the English translation. The original context discusses the concept of dying as perceived by different individuals, including the character Bookseller Soldin, who is noted for his absent-mindedness regarding his own death.

PREREQUISITES
  • Familiarity with Kierkegaard's philosophical works, particularly "Concluding Unscientific Postscript."
  • Understanding of paraphrasing and citation practices in philosophical texts.
  • Basic knowledge of the historical context surrounding Kierkegaard and his contemporaries.
  • Ability to navigate public domain texts and academic resources online.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research Kierkegaard's "Concluding Unscientific Postscript" for deeper insights into his philosophy.
  • Explore the significance of the character Bookseller Soldin in Kierkegaard's works.
  • Investigate the translation variations of Kierkegaard's texts, focusing on the English translations.
  • Study the impact of William Barrett's interpretations on modern understanding of Kierkegaard's philosophy.
USEFUL FOR

Philosophy students, scholars of existentialism, and anyone interested in Kierkegaard's works and their interpretations will benefit from this discussion.

nomadreid
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I am interpreting the title of this rubric rather broadly; if a mentor decides that the question is inappropriate, then I will not object to it being removed.
In his book "Irrational Man", William Barrett starts Chapter 1, "The story is told by Kierkegaard of the absent-minded man so abstracted from his own life that he hardly knows he exists until, one fine morning, he wakes up to find himself dead." The quote is all over the Internet but I cannot find a source in the book itself (it is in the public domain: https://archive.org/details/irrationalman_201911/mode/2up?view=theater&q=story) telling me which story. Given that Kierkegaard wrote a lot, I would not know where to start to look for the original quote, assuming that Barret did not make this up. (I read German, if that is any help.) If anyone can point me in the right direction, then I would appreciate it.
 
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The answer has been found. (That is, I cannot take credit for finding it; a helpful philosopher not on this forum provided the answer.)
The quote by Barrett is apparently an extremely loose paraphrase from Kierkegaard's book
Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift til de philosophiske Smuler
Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments,

("Smuler" is actually "crumbs")
On paage 140 of the following English translation
https://www.google.it/books/edition...g_Unscientific_Post/RHZG2cD0uJgC?hl=it&gbpv=1
"...the uncertainty of death is just a something-in-general, then my own dying is itself only a something-in-general. Perhaps dying is also a something-in-general for systematicians, for distracted people. For the late Bookseller Soldin, dying is said to have been such a something-in-general: ‘When he was about to get up in the morning he was not aware that he was dead.’ But for me, my dying is not at all a something-in-general; maybe for others my dying is a something-in-general....."

(Probably the "something-in-general" has a nice catchy phrase in Danish to it, but I do not master the Danish language.)
(Soldin is often cited in Kierkegaard's work. Here is who he was: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salomon_Soldin)
 
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