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HERMENEUTICAL BORDERLINE SITUATIONS— KIERKEGAARD AND THE COMPELLING SIGN ——~o » —_—_ OrSOLYA HORVATH ABSTRACT In his 1945 lecture VExistentialisme est un humanisme, Sartre looks at Kierkegaard again and again while trying to outline an ethics based on atheistic existentialism. Reflecting on Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling, he sees the situation of the decision in the story of Abraham as a hermeneutical one. Accordingly, the decision whether to sacrifice his son lies in Abraham’s hands; however, an original decision precedes this one: should the voice heard by Abraham be understood as the voice of God? In Sartre’s view, there is no “convincing sign” which would prove the divine origin of the voice. Therefore, Abraham has to make a decision about the origin of the voice. This original decision then determines the act. However, Kierkegaard’s meditations — as I see them — tend to go in the direction that there can be such a compelling sign — an expression which, as far as I know, is not used by Kierkegaard — in connection with which there is no doubt about the divine origin, which is impossible to interpret and makes man reach the decision. In my study, I try to analyse the compelling sign in a phenomenological way on the basis of Kierkegaard’s interpretation of the story of Abraham. In his 1945 lecture Existentialism is a Humanism,’ Sartre articulated before a large audience what he sees as the essence of existentialism. His aim, of course, was not to sum up existentialism itself, but rather to give answers to the criticism directed against it at the time. He wished to show the possibility of an ethical concept based purely on existentialist grounds. More precisely, he sought to present an ethics which is not afraid to take the radicalism of 1 Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism, trans. Carol Macomber, New Haven & London, Yale University Press, 2007, 17-54. + 243 + Daréczi-Sepsi-Vassänyi_Initiation_155x240.indb 243 6 2020.06.15. 11:04:22
