and instead considered breaking his manuscript up into “very short, separate
parts,” publishing only the more theoretical portions: “It could very well
be done, and then the work would be read quite differently. And I would
be spared having to mention Adler by name, spared from the awful business
of having to put a person to death like that.” By December 1, 1847 the
book had undergone yet another transformation: “I have now once again
organized and arranged the book on Adler. With this arrangement every-
thing has been illuminated and made as transparent as possible.” Kierke-
gaard, however, was afraid that by publishing the book he would risk com-
ing “into contact with this confused person who has nothing to do, and
therefore will most likely write and write.” Kierkegaard was not the least
bit interested in a contact of that sort, because in that case the matter could
easily end as a “cockfight between Adler and myself for the benefit of a
curious public. No, it is better to drop Adler.”
That was more easily said than done. In the course of the next couple of
years the manuscript was reworked many times. At one point, part of it was
titledA Cycle of Ethical-Religious Essays, but this solution also failed to satisfy
Kierkegaard. Finally, on May 19, 1849, a modest portion of the material
saw the light of day as one of theTwo Ethical-Religious Essays. Two days after
they were published Kierkegaard purchased Adler’sNotes from a Journey.At
the same time, Kierkegaard also considered using more of the Adler material
by publishingThree Ethical or Ethical-Religious Essays, but he abandoned the
idea for fear that people might think that it was he himself and not Adler
who had been the occasion for the essays’ reflections on the conditions
under which a personal revelation might be possible. Kierkegaard sought
various ways out of the problem, but he never published any more of the
material. He did, however, continue his editing and reorganizing of the
work all the way up to the spring of 1855. The manuscripts thus are among
the most complicated that Kierkegaard has left us, and they are capable of
giving philological heartburn to anyone who might think of editing and
publishing them.
“Confusion-Making of the Highest Order”
In its first incarnation,The Book on Adlerconsisted of an introduction and
four lengthy chapters, of which the latter two were subdivided into a series
of sections (marked with §’s) and supplemented with a single appendix.
Kierkegaard explained his method in technical terms, stating that he “always
argues onlye concessis,” meaning that he analyzes and discusses the various
problems on the basis of Adler’s own statements, which he wanted to illumi-