Kierkegaardian Philosophy
While writing his journal and looking up words and names, Tubby encounters the writings of Søren Kierkegaard. A list of Kierkegaard book titles catches his attention and motivates him to delve into Kierkegaard's journals and publications. Tubby feels that he and Kierkegaard have experienced similar difficulties. For example, Tubby likens his being mocked in a magazine article to Kierkegaard's Corsair Affair; and the way Tubby dumps Maureen, he feels, is akin to Kierkegaard's breakup with Regine. Tubby struggles to find a way out of his depression. Even though Tubby denies Christianity it may be interpreted that he undergoes the three (Kierkegaardian) existential stages of 'the Aesthetic', 'the Ethicist' and 'the Religious' and takes leaps of faith to move from one stage to another.
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“What does mysticism really mean? It means the way to attain knowledge. It’s close to philosophy, except in philosophy you go horizontally while in mysticism you go vertically.”
—Elie Wiesel (b. 1928)