A Comparative Hermeneutic of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche for Democratic Subjectivity

Authors : Alim Yılmaz, Didem Geylani

Pages : 1099-1128

Doi:10.46928/iticusbe.1772769

View : 70 | Download : 245

Publication Date : 2025-12-29

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article argues that, for democratic legitimacy to be ethically sustainable, there is a need for an individual model that combines Søren Kierkegaard\\\'s faith-based inwardness with Friedrich Nietzsche\\\'s secular self-creation within a robust understanding of the democratic subject. This article advances a comparative hermeneutic account of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche on the politics of the individual. Methodologically, the study specifies a three-step framework: (a) text-immanent reconstruction, (b) concept-level mapping, and (c) normative integration, to compare their views of subjectivity, freedom, morality, and modernity. Substantively, it argues that Kierkegaard’s inwardness (faith, accountability, anti-crowd) and Nietzsche’s self-overcoming (perspectivism, value-creation, anti-ressentiment) constitute complementary disciplines of freedom. The resulting integrative framework shows how inward responsibility and creative autonomy can underwrite democratic legitimacy and a post-secular ethical horizon resilient to technocratic flattening. The article tries to clarify its method, tighten its argumentative architecture, unpack quotations, and standardize citations and style in relation to the individual and politics.
Keywords : Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, öznellik, özgünlük, demokratik meşruiyet

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