The purpose of this paper is to apply Soren Kierkegaard’s concept of despair in an analysis human fallibility in professional practices. The Danish existentialist defined the self as a synthesis the infinite and the finite, the temporal and the eternal. A person in despair is one who denies or to flee the paradoxes of being in such a state. Kierkegaard viewed despair not as a feeling, but as an attitude or posture a person can take on towards him-or herself. Despair can consist in wanting to be oneself, a being with specific limitations and shortcomings. The current study attempts use this understanding of despair in an analysis of how people relate to their own fallibility at work. from health care and aviation will be used to illustrate how despair can be an obstacle for dialogue about mishaps and mistakes. Practitioners should seek to find the Golden Mean despair (giving fallibility to much weight) and indifference (taking fallibility too lightly), a characterized by mindfulness.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Øyvind Kvalnes (2012) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 related papers. Consider them for comparative context:
More from The International Journal of the Humanities Annual Review