The Criticism Spirit of Kierkegaard and Socrates – A Reflection on The Problem of Populism (民粹主義的問題)

Since Kierkegaard treated his life as a copy of Socrates, he thought Socrates as a true Christian prior than Jesus. This is the metaphorical evidence that Kierkegaard was actually criticizing to renounce the wrong practice of the Church at his contemporary. Therefore, his criticism is based on his opinions against the mainstream practices of the Church members those actually disregarded the injustice regarding to the class inequality of the society. The societies today in the world also display the same problem. The criticism to the Church is also true to the Populism today.

The first idea Kierkegaard learned is the critical attitude toward the common sense and culture. Kierkegaard addresses the Daimon of Socrates is not a higher truth, but as a concept for people to think. It’s won’t take you to a new positive result of constructing a new or final solution. That’s a negative attitude toward the existing system, culture or knowledge. In his Concept of Irony, he said, “this daimonian is represented only as warning, not as commanding” (p. 159). The critical attitude is truly provoking the ways of thinking to the modern world today. We always live our lives in a principle looking for better solution toward our own situations. which are subjective truth.

The other thing he learned from Socrates is the effective criticism always comes from the subjective point of view. Even toward the knowledge we select to acquire, we don’t really know how to distinguish the knowledge may be merely a belief from a more popular research. In this case, we may unconsciously ignore the facts which has less chance to be proven. Kierkegaard explains the Daimon of Socrates (the voice of truth) is not from the system inside. The one who can give effective advice from outside is “never involved in matters of the states” (Concept of Irony, p. 160). This causes a contradiction that how can one who don’t involve a certain matter of the state really knows the problem of the certain state. So the outsider does NOT mean someone who doesn’t belong to the state as a foreigner. What Socrates wants to emphasis a position “is that of subjectivity, of inwardness,” (Concept of Irony, p.163) that is, subjectivity. In addition, we know what we know. We don’t know what we don’t know yet. Kierkegaard tells the modern people that we always need to respect different opinions which is subjective.

Today, our postmodern world, we treat subjective opinion as a right to public domain. However, the modern people still suffer in variety kinds of mental crisis. People feel the estrangement toward the group as they are highly respected while they still look for recognition and acceptance from others. It’s a never ending trail for the modern people. Considering Kierkegaard and Socrates, inside the individual, there is the truth. In order to distinguish the voice is mere thoughts of our minds or the truth, people need to adopt in a critical way as Kierkegaard did. In short, Kierkegaard tells us that we always need to respect different opinions. In the modern world today, the populism makes the democracy somehow loses its value to protect the right of every people. We see the problems today, we have great schism in different classes and believes. The worst is the unfair treatment and policies to the marginal people. The injustice state makes them anger and pushes them to recognize the Terrorism and Racism.

In conclusion, Kierkegaard eventually encouraged himself to think about the justice of God, the life of Jesus, which is only revealed in Christianity. It is the greatest contribution Kierkegaard provides to the modern people reflecting ourselves in a critical way. The modern spiritual way of life is always based on tolerance of others and inter-subjective way.

秋香

    成功的電影，讓我們在虛幻的故事中暫時離開現實，引導你進入一場清晰的絕妙夢境。然而，好的紀錄片，卻是讓人從自我建構的小房間，透過導演打開的窗窺見真實的世界。
     今天下午很感恩，親愛的媽媽和我互相作伴，去工研院看這部紀錄片，我媽媽的名字和片中的主角一樣都叫「秋香」，一樣都是肢體障礙的女性。她們同樣都有殘缺 的身體，但是都擁有堅強的生命力，媽媽看完後很感動，覺得自己很幸福可以認識主耶穌，大半輩子的辛苦和委屈主都知道，心得安慰。
    映後，吳乙峰導演的得救見 證，特別對我有很大的鼓勵，他的一生用極為誠實和認真的態度，去探討自己存在的意義，但最終卻讓他憂鬱成疾，直到接觸基督信仰後，在傳道人身上找到那生命 力，進而終於認識神，受了洗歸主，並找到他半輩子所尋找的生命意義，現在充滿喜樂和活力。吳導演知道我過去也是學電影，如今在讀神學院後，他就連連道謝， 很高興我來看這部片子，真的是位很平易近人的名導演，知道媽媽的名字也叫秋香後，更加開心，難以置信地不斷問媽媽：「你真的也叫秋香？」
   

上帝真是奇妙，並 愛著我們這些卑微的人，就像這部片子結束後，呈現的一段經文。「萬事都互相效力、叫愛神的人得益處…」（羅8:28）

《秋香》的臉書專頁：
https://www.facebook.com/chiu.hsiang.tw

思念我的父親

我的爸爸孫洪昇於民國十六年十月八日出生在山東青島，成長於苦難中的中國，他曾回憶因為日軍佔領青島，他和年幼的弟弟隨著父母成為難民，在幾個鄉村投靠親友避難，常經歷飢餓和困苦，抗戰勝利以後他們才又定居在青島，民國三十七年，中共預備解放青島，爸爸加入國軍，並隨著部隊經由上海撤退來到台灣，他幾次提起那一段逃難的故事，常常是含著眼淚述說，他做夢也沒想過這一離開家，就永遠見不到家人了。

爸爸來台灣後，服役於空軍工程修護補給中隊，民國55年元旦結婚，陸續生了我們三兄弟，59年在距離新竹勝利堂不遠的日軍煉油廠遺址中，當地居民俗稱的大煙囪下面，靠著他的雙手搭蓋起我們一家住了三十多年的家園，和當時許多眷村家庭一樣，我們一家五口過著克勤克儉的日子，和媽媽一同辛勞地拉拔我們長大。爸爸他是個勤奮又愛家的男子漢，68年軍階上士退役，為了家計，在桃園電宰場當修車工人，後來陸陸續續兼差打零工，始終勤於工作不怕吃苦，一直到七十多歲，才從竹科員工宿舍管理員的工作退休下來，我從來沒聽他為生活艱難抱怨過，爸爸喜歡自己下廚，我們從小就常常吃道地的山東水餃、饅頭，另外他也是個天才巧匠，DIY達人，我們家有各式各樣工具，他是木工、水電工樣樣精通，家裡的桌椅、衣櫃、門窗、重要的家具幾乎都是他親手打造，我記得我小學的時候，同學們流行玩扯鈴，我吵著要買，他就幫我做了一個扯鈴，真是太神奇了。父親是我見過最知足的人、並且正直良善、誠實和守法，我常記得他勉勵我說，我們人可以窮，但不能沒有志氣，街坊鄰居都很敬重我父親，因為他待人誠懇、謙和，爸爸是我小時候心中崇拜的偶像。

他不愛出遊，最大的享受就是慢慢吃晚餐，一邊喝個小酒，還有就是他最愛的京劇，雖然如此安貧守份，但我們也都知道他內心深藏的鄉愁，就像是許多來台灣的老榮民一樣，他這一生最深的期盼就是能回大陸老家，見到思念的奶奶，但是在開放探親前奶奶就過世了，我想這是他一生最深的遺憾，根據媽媽描述，探親時見到失散多年的弟弟，兩個老人家抱在一起放聲大哭；有一年我和大哥也陪他回青島老家探親，即使如此，我們很難真正體會他的心情，只能感嘆人生的無常。儘管他前後去老家探親好多次，但我感到他心中的遺憾是難以撫平的，我年少的時候很叛逆，常常挨他罵，但是被他罵最多的應該是政府官員和立法委員。

我們比較不知道的，是他從來不願多談的信仰，但這幾年他和我分享許多他的故事，爸爸大約在民國四十幾年就到天主教教堂參加聖經課程，五十三年於新竹的「聖母聖心主教座堂」也就是俗稱的「北大教堂」受洗，之後接受修士的訓練，據他說，原打算退役以後，要進彰化的一間修道院，成為修道士。不過感謝主他沒去成，不然就沒有我們了！因為天主教的修道士不能結婚，後來取了媽媽後換了幾個教堂，神父都不願意祝福他的婚姻，規定一定要帶太太一起來，他不想面對這困難的問題，就漸漸地不再聚會了，爸爸告訴我他這一生最要感謝神的，就是讓他娶到媽媽，生了我們三兄弟，而且他認為神在他的心裡，強調自己和某些出了教堂，就變另一個模樣的基督徒不同，從他的言談中，知道他對基督信仰有很深刻的反思，也熟悉聖經，他認為去教會應該像和「回家」一樣容易才對，因為主耶穌來就是要人可以回家，他的洞見讓我很感動，也提醒我在教會中，絕不要把難當的軛放在別人身上，害人有家歸不得。感謝主，五年前，媽媽在新竹勝利堂受洗歸主，爸爸為此很開心，後來我們一起陪他去教會，由吳大明牧師見證他對三一神的信仰。

爸爸最後這幾年，飽受一週三次洗腎的痛苦，這一年來身體更是虛弱，他常說準備好見主了，上週一主接他走那天，我到他的房間看到床邊櫃放著一本他愛讀的「靈命日糧」，翻開的那一頁標題是「正好足夠」，正好見證了他這謙卑和知足的一生，過去他心中一直想回大陸老家，但是在人生的最後，最盼望的是天上的家，我很想念他，但我知道將來會和爸爸在主內永遠團聚。