Abstract

In May 1996, a five day conference was held in Copenhagen where the essays in this book were presented, among a throng of others. Only the offerings of the keynote speakers are made available here, of which there are twenty-five. It is perhaps more fitting that this collection of speeches adopts the title of David Lodge’s address “Kierkegaard for Special Purposes,” for as the editors of this volume emphasize, “While united in their interest in Kierkegaard, the participants at the conference came from a wide range of different disciplines and academic backgrounds, and each was interested in interpreting and making use of Kierkegaard in a different way, in accordance with his or her own research agenda”. That Kierkegaard was put to use in a variety of ways is clear just from the roster of titles. Yet even after reading the articles it is apparent that the only dominating common feature among them is that Kierkegaard is the subject under consideration.