By Kayleigh King
The famed damsel of Shakespeare''s Othello and an infamous Danish philosopher have something in common. They both lied purposely.
In the play Othello, a woman called Desdemona lied to protect her husband. In Denmark, there was a philosopher, Kierkegaard, who lied to shock the Christian community.
Bruce H. Kirmmse, a noted Kierkegaard scholar and philosophy professor at the University of Copenhagen, presented the first of four lectures about this philosopher on Wednesday.
He compared Kierkegaard''s lie to Desdemona''s lie.
To illustrate the purpose of Desdemona''s lie, Kirmmse repeated the response of Desdemona while on her deathbed. When a servant asks Desdemona who murdered her, Desdemona replies: Nobody; I myself. Desdemona lied selflessly to protect her murderer and husband, Othello.
In a different light, Kirmmse said Kierkegaard lied by saying, 'I am not a Christian,' to shock the Danish people into believing they were disregarding the truthfulness of Christianity.
Kirmmse called the lies of Desdemona and Kierkegaard sublime lies. A sublime lie is a contradiction, conveyed in a deceptive form to move a person to action. It is a form of indirect communication, meaning an individual doesn''t communicate the intents of his thinking or speech.
After studying Kierkegaard''s sublime lie, Kirmmse was moved to examine the differences between Christendom and Christianity. While Christianity is a faith, Christendom is a social circumstance or culture officially Christian.
Kirmmse said Kierkegaard asserted that no such Christian culture is possible because it becomes less Christian as people become more hypocritical. Kierkegaard believed this world was sacrilegious, forcing individuals to proclaim Christianity before they even were converted.
'I learned to understand Kierkegaard is more complex than ever imagined,' said Sarah Taylor, a junior from Minnesota, majoring in philosophy. 'I liked Kirmmse''s comparison of Kierkegaard to Desdemona ? that he wasn''t Christian is a noble lie.'
Kierkegaard was born in 1813 and lived 42 years. He began producing myriad works in his 20s. Because he lacked authority because of social status, he wrote many of his works in pseudonyms or alternate names.
When split into two words, his name means church garden. In modern Danish, it means cemetery. By the end of his life, Kierkegaard was noted for his prolific attack on the Danish church.
kayleigh@byu.net