Letter to a European Philosopher 1

Letter to a European Philosopher
Rose Fromm
Axia College, University of Phoenix
PHI/105

Letter to a European Philosopher 2
Letter to a European Philosopher To: Soren Kierkegaard Dear Soren Kierkegaard, I had sent this letter to you so that I may be able to express the way I feel about your work. I really would like you to know that I am really fond of your work and understand every effort that you have put into the science of philosophy. Recently I had been studying and learning so much about your work and was very intrigued in what I have read about you. I have read that you are a high believer in God. You have written that you believed in god and that dread and despair was the central problems of your life, and the only way of escaping was to make a commitment of faith to god and the infinite (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p. 168). I do not agree on what you have written because I think that having dread and despair is not the reason for not having any faith in God. I believe that loving him is very important as well as having so much faith in his love. The trust that I feel in God is very valuable to me especially when it comes down to having so many things happening in my life, but for me too have God as my only friend and comforter would make feel isolated, which this could bring me sorrow and misery. You were engaged to be married to Ms. Regine Olsen and had walked away from her because you had replied “God as your first love” (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p. 168). Do you think you deserve all the good things that God gives to his own people such as love, happiness, and prosperity? I believe the feelings of love that you had for Ms. Regine Olsen could have been the cause of despair that you have been talking so much about.

Letter to a European Philosopher 3
Life in general can sometimes have its ups and downs of pains and sorrow. But dread, being the worst to you, is resistible in my opinion (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p. 167). With our minds start thinking of being positive, we can turn dread into rational thought, which this can help us get out of the darkness. God gives us the strength and will to save ourselves from despair. When I start feeling depressed or even feel lost, I try to rationalize my feelings by making the right decision in healing myself. You have also defined three types of life 1) aesthetic, 2) ethical, and 3) religious. You mentioned and described that the religion type of life to be at is a ‘higher and more difficult plane’ (Moore & Bruder, 2008, p. 168) than that of than aesthetic and ethical. Once again, you relate the religious aspect of life to agony and despair as well as salvation. While I understand the significance that making important choices plays in a human’s life, I see all aspects of life requiring such choices. I find life to be a difficult and a daily challenge, but I thank God daily for the life He has given me and gladly face every daily challenge with courage. Sir, I am more than certain of your great intelligence; however, I find your introspect to be much too extreme for my understanding and attribute this to either a psychological condition or a lifetime of negative experiences that created negative perceptions of life; possibly both.
Again, I would like to thank you for helping to raise my awareness of ideas and experiences different from my own. I only hope that you do not misunderstand my thoughts and arguments and can possibly use them to raise your awareness of ideas other than your own. I would like to think that I gave you a bit of insight into the joyful and hopeful aspects of life.
Respectfully,
Rose Fromm
Letter to a European Philosopher 4 References Moore, B. N., Bruder, K. (2008). Philosophy: The Power of Ideas (7th ed.). Boston. McGraw-Hill.