Double-mindedness is a

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

used in the

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

of the Danish philosopher

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , ; ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danes, Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical tex ...

as insincerity,

egoism Egoism is a philosophy concerned with the role of the self, or , as the motivation and goal of one's own action. Different theories of egoism encompass a range of disparate ideas and can generally be categorized into descriptive or normativ ...

, or fear of punishment. The term was used in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

in the

Epistle of James The Epistle of James is a Catholic epistles, general epistle and one of the 21 epistles (didactic letters) in the New Testament. It was written originally in Koine Greek. The epistle aims to reach a wide Jewish audience. It survives in manusc ...

. Kierkegaard developed his own systematic way to try to detect double-mindedness in himself.

Søren Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard asked himself: "Do I want to be a Christian or not? Do I want to be a preacher or not? Do I want to be a teacher or not? Do I want to get married or not?" Many people were willing to give him advice, but he felt the decision was ultimately his own. He believed individuals fear making a decision because of external opposition, but this need not stop one from making a decision, as long as one has the capacity to learn through experience whether the decision was a good one. The first type of double-mindedness, willing for the sake of reward or out of fear of punishment, is akin to the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic values. The second type of double-mindedness, willing only to a certain degree, is akin to distraction or half-hearted willing. Each type of double-mindedness is a human weakness and an obstacle to an individual pursuit of greatness and strength towards willing and reaching the Good.Hannay, Alastair. ''Kierkegaard'', Routledge, pp. 220–225. To counter double-mindedness, Kierkegaard argued that discipline and clarity of the

self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

is essential and necessary. He believed that double-mindedness isn't evil but a person not recognizing that they are a self-contradiction and double-minded is self-deceit. Nietzsche187c

References

Sources

The Bible: ''The Book of James''

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20111102064340/http://www.religion-online.org/showbook.asp?title=2523 Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing by Søren Kierkegaard, March 13, 1847
''Anthony Storm's Commentary on Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses''
* Wikiquote Soren Kierkegaard, ''Four Upbuilding Discourses, 1844'' {{Søren Kierkegaard Søren Kierkegaard Existentialist concepts Mental states Religious philosophical concepts