Kierkegaard’s account of thought experiment
A method of variation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21335764 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eleanor Helms (California Polytechnic State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 1064-1089 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-07 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Inquiry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-174X • E-ISSN: 1502-3923 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0020174x.2023.2248617 |
| OpenAlex | W4385978577 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 24 |
I argue that Kierkegaard has an account of thought experiment. While his contemporary Ørsted’s contributions to the early history of the concept of ‘thought experiment’ have been recently acknowledged, Kierkegaard’s contributions remain largely unrecognized. I argue that Kierkegaard’s method of ‘imaginary construction’ [Tanke-Experiment] aims at identifying underlying invariants in objects of experience. I outline similarities between Ørsted’s pursuit of invariants in the sciences and Kierkegaard’s fictional variations in Repetition. One implication is that Kierkegaard’s view is more scientific and methodological than is standardly thought by Kierkegaard scholars, who more commonly treat imaginary construction as a literary device. A further implication is that Kierkegaard, like Ørsted, is interested in the success or failure of mental acts, rather than (or in addition to) practical action, as is more standardly associated with Kierkegaard. One original development, beyond what Kierkegaard inherits from Ørsted, is the role of thought experiments as exceptions. An exception is a case that falls outside a rule without breaking it. Exceptions can neither establish a rule nor refute its necessity; however, they turn attention to relevant principles and further determine their content. I highlight similarities between Ørsted’s account of thought experiments and Kierkegaard’s as a method of variation
Action (physics) · Astrophysics · Epistemology · Linguistics · Physics · Psychoanalysis · Repetition (rhetorical device) · The Imaginary · Variation (astronomy) · Kierkegaardian Philosophy and Influence · Philosophy · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism · Psychology
Philosophy without Intuitions
Introduction
Ørsted, Mach, and the history of ‘thought experiment’
Kierkegaard and the Limits of Thought
The Essential Tension
Kant on geometry and spatial intuition
Peeking into Plato's Heaven
On Thought Experiments
The Thought Experimenting Qualities of Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling
| Citations per year | 0.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |