Epistemic and Exegetical Analysis of the Early Writings of the Young Søren Kierkegaard. Part Three: Irony as a Path to Subjectivity: A Study of Socratic, Romantic, and Kierkegaardian Irony.

This text is the third and final installment of an extensive investigation into the concept of irony in the early thought of Søren Kierkegaard. Over the course of this series, the study has examined the Danish Golden Age's cultural and intellectual context, along with the influence of German Romanticism and Hegelian philosophy on Kierkegaard's development. In this concluding work, irony is explored as a key philosophical tool in On the Concept of Irony with Constant Reference to Socrates (1841). The analysis argues that irony is not merely a tool for destruction but a dialectical means that leads to authentic subjectivity.The paper explores the philosophical influences that shaped Kierkegaard's concept of irony, particularly his critique of Romantic irony for its nihilistic tendencies. Building on these influences, Kierkegaard formulates the idea of "controlled irony," which allows individuals to confront life's contradictions without losing connection to ethical reality. This study delves into how Kierkegaard redefines irony as a necessary process for existential fulfillment, linking its roots in Socratic irony to his critique of Romanticism, ultimately proposing irony as a means to achieve an authentic and ethical life.