Alastair Hannay (born 1932, Plymouth) has been a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo since 1961. He has written about and translated several works of Kierkegaard and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His parents were Scottish. 1932 is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... Smeatons tower on Plymouth Hoe Plymouth is a city in the South West of England, or alternatively the West Country, and is situated within the traditional county of Devon. ... 1961 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (May 5, 1813 - November 11, 1855), a 19th century Danish philosopher, has achieved general recognition as the first existentialist philosopher, though some new research shows this may be a more difficult connection than previously thought. ... The Royal Society of Edinburghs Building on the corner of George St. ... Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe and a constituent nation of the United Kingdom. ...
References
Soren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling, Penguin Books, translated by Alastair Hannay
As Hannay suggests, to grasp the importance and influence of Kierkegaard's thought, it is necessary to trace the many factors that led this gifted but (according to his headmaster) 'exceedingly childish youth' to grapple with traditional philosophical problems and religious themes in a way that later generations would recognize as amounting to a philosophical revolution.
Hannay judiciously pays equal attention to the life and work of Kierkegaard in a biography that is an excellent introduction to the key concepts in his writings, presents a nuanced understanding of how those writings were shaped by, and reflected Kierkegaard's life and surroundings.
Richard Rorty writes, "AlastairHannay has devoted enormous efforts to familiarize himself with what was going on in Denmark in Kierkegaard's time, and with the details of the controversies in which he embroiled himself.
While Hannay’s study is rightly advertised as an “intellectual biography,” no biographer of Kierkegaard could legitimately ignore the familial loam out of which Kierkegaard’s thought grew.
Hannay makes it clear that the Danes did not know what to do with the flaneur who seemed to suddenly morph into a genius.
Hannay’s guide-wire readings offer support to those new to Kierkegaard while his interpretations are rich enough to challenge people who have been squinting over Kierkegaard’s manuscripts for decades.
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