“Marvel at Nothing”: Reconsidering Kierkegaard’s Category of Recollection through Social Networking Services

Abstract

AbstractSurprisingly little has been written about Kierkegaard’s thought in relation to the Internet in general, and Social Networking Services in particular. Scholarly discussion about Kierkegaard and the Internet has focused nearly solely on his 1846 Literary Review of Two Ages, in relation to his view on the press and the public. In this article, Kierkegaard’s category of recollection is taken into the contemporary discussion in media studies, philosophy of technology and sociology regarding the question of what it means to exist online. Recollection is presented here as a way of existing online and is discussed in relation to everyday existential encounters such as death, breakups, dating, hookups, and identity construction. The aim of this article is to offer a reading of Kierkegaard’s thought in relation to the Internet through the lens of his category of recollection