After Socrates: Episode 17 - Kierkegaard & The Logos of Christ

In this thought-provoking episode of After Socrates, host John Vervaeke is joined by scholar Christopher Mastropietro to explore the connections between Socrates and Kierkegaard, as well as the relationship between reason, faith, existentialism, and spirituality. Through a deep dive into irony, self-transcendence, and relevance realization, Vervaeke and Mastropietro reveal the shared project between these two influential thinkers, while discussing the role of humor and absurdity in understanding the human condition. Christopher Mastropietro is a scholar and author who has collaborated extensively with John Vervaeke on various projects.   Time-Codes: 00:00 - Kierkegaard's humorous example of a busy man dying 01:07 - Introduction to After Socrates, Episode 17 03:24 - Faith, logos, and character cultivation 05:50 - Kierkegaard's paradoxical argument on autonomy 06:47 - The paradox of self-transcendence 09:53 - Irony in developing a relationship with truth 10:35 - Differentiating irony from cynicism and sarcasm 14:08 - Irony as participatory and perspectival truth 16:24 - Kierkegaard's example illustrating ironic tension 20:04 - Irony's grounding and autonomy 22:13 - Irony, epistemic humility, and aporia 24:00 - An ironist's passionate participation in paradox 25:58 - Clarifying irony, cynicism, sarcasm, and intellectual laziness 30:26 - Relevance realization and irony 32:28 - Communicating ultimate truth indirectly 33:02 - Relevance realization and ultimate concern 34:00 - Ultimate concern vs. regular concern 34:51 - Socrates and Kierkegaard's shared project 36:19 - Kierkegaard's use of the eye of Socrates 37:16 - Agency and freedom in philosophy