Different ways of saying nothing: Kierkegaard and the paths of chaos, from Jean Vargas

Abstract

This review presents the book Vários modos de dizer o nada: Kierkegaard e os caminhos do caos (2024), de Jean Vargas. The work proposes a reading of Søren Kierkegaard's thought from the perspective of nihilism, exploring how his philosophy anticipates issues later developed by Nietzsche, Dostoiévski and Heidegger. Divided into three chapters, the study addresses the existential void, irony and the crisis of subjectivity in Kierkegaard, articulating a critical dialogue with Hegelian idealism and German romanticism. The analysis highlights the originality of Vargas' genealogical and phenomenological approach, although his proposal of a “controlled anachronism” may generate academic debates about the applicability of the concept of nihilism to Kierkegaardian thought.