The ''Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses'' (), sometimes called the ''Eighteen Edifying Discourses'', is a collection of discourses produced by

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , ; ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danes, Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical tex ...

in 1843 and 1844. Although he published some of his works using

pseudonyms A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's ow ...

, these discourses were signed. His discourses stress love, joy, faith, gratitude, thanksgiving, peace, adversity, impartiality, and equality before God and recommend them to the single individual. Kierkegaard was not a preacher or a teacher at the beginning of his discourses, but by the end he removed the word, teacher. Later in '' Practice in Christianity'' he stated the problem he had with the modern sermon. "The Christian sermon today has become mainly observations. 'To observe' can mean in one sense to come very close to something, namely, to what one wishes to observe; in another sense, it signifies keeping very distant, infinitely distant, that is, personally." ''Practice in Christianity.''

Purpose

These discourses or conversations are intended to be "upbuilding", building up another person or oneself. Kierkegaard said: "Although this little book (which is called ' discourses,' not

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s, because its author does not have

authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or group of other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' may be practiced by legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government,''The New Fontana Dictionary of M ...

to 'preach', "upbuilding discourses," not discourses for upbuilding because the speaker makes no claim to be a teacher) wishes to be only what it is, a superfluity, and desires only to remain in hiding". He also wrote that he was without authority. He explained in his Journals:

Martin Buber

Martin Buber Martin Buber (; , ; ; 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I and Thou, I–Thou relationship and the I� ...

discussed his idea of the Single One this way:

Titling and translation

David F. Swenson first translated the works in the 1940s and titled them the ''Edifying Discourses.'' In 1990, Howard V. and Edna H. Hong translated the works again, calling them the ''Upbuilding Discourses''. The word "upbuilding" was more in line with Kierkegaard's thought after 1846, when he wrote Christian discourses about suffering and later Christian deliberations about works of love.Søren Kierkegaard, ''Works of Love'', p. 3 (Hong 1990)

Packaging

Kierkegaard published these discourses in groups between 1843 and 1844. Confusingly, the publications shared names, with dates appended. They were: * Two Upbuilding Discourses, 1843 * Three Upbuilding Discourses, 1843 * Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1843 * Two Upbuilding Discourses, 1844 * Three Upbuilding Discourses, 1844 * Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1844

References

{{Authority control Works by Søren Kierkegaard 1843 books 1844 books