If I had a favourite philosopher, it would be Kierkegaard or maybe Ellul. Both philosophers are highly critical in their thinking and propose a whole new way of viewing life.
Both write lyrically/poetically and need to be understood that way. Both understand the semiotics of language, discourse, myth, metaphysics and mystery in a way many other philosophers would not contemplate. Neither Kierkegaard or Ellul are afraid of deconstructing ideas that dehumanise persons that only offer delusion and despair.
If you want to make a brave start on Kierkegaard you could start here:
- https://www.delphiclassics.com/Sample%20PDFs/Collected%20Works%20of%20Soren%20Kierkegaard%20-%20sample.pdf
- https://ia802907.us.archive.org/28/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.65742/2015.65742.A-Kierkegaard-Anthology.pdf
However, you can’t just read Kierkegaard as you would any other philosopher of the time, especially reading perhaps Kant, Locke or Hegel.
If you want to start on Ellul you could start here:
- https://monoskop.org/images/4/44/Ellul_Jacques_Propaganda_The_Formation_of_Mens_Attitudes.pdf
- https://archive.org/details/JacquesEllulTheTechnologicalSociety
- https://afkimel.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/what-i-believe-jacques-ellul.pdf
If you have already relegated cosmology, metaphysics, spirituality, faith and religion to the scrap heap, then none of their works will be of any interest. But, I find their works enlivening, full of hope, mystery and deep learning.
For the moment, let’s just think about Kierkegaard and his collection of works called Edifying Discourses. You can find a selection here: https://www.holybooks.com/wp-content/uploads/Edifying-Discourse-A-Selection.pdf
The word ‘edifying’ or ‘edification’ comes from Paul’s writing to the Corinthians and has the sense we would mean by ‘education’ and learning. In Paul’s understanding edification was for the ‘ethical upbuilding of persons’. This is its deepest meaning.
Kierkegaard’s world was a Christianised world where the church and state were enmeshed and Soren didn’t spare the church, the state or its leaders from criticism. Kierkagaard, as was Ellul, brutal on mechanisms and philosophies that dehumanised persons. And, the church did a pretty good job of that, as did the state in 19th Century Denmark. Ellul was no different in his criticism of those in power in France post WW2.
Kierkegaard is considered the founder of existentialism and his critique of rationalism and materialism could be considered brutal. However, the purpose of his discourse and critical thinking was for the ethical upbuilding of persons. Of course, such criticism brought enemies, as their thinking challenged the power of dehumanising beliefs. Similarly, Ellul.
If you understand and read either Kierkgaard or Ellul you will find through their work the most extraordinary liberation to a new way of thinking and being.
In SPoR, this is what we also do. In our book on Envisioning Risk we speak of the Faith-Hope-Love-Justice dialectic, bringing together the works of Kierkagaard and Ellul. The purpose of the book is to offer a vision in education and learning to an industry that is addicted to dehumanisation, objects, engineering, metrics and deontology.
In SPoR, the philosophy is opposite to all of these. SPoR is anchored in an existentialist phenomenological dialectical philosophy. This means it is anchored to the experience of life and the phenomenon of being.
If you are not familiar with the kind of philosophy discussed here, it is easy to just write it off as irrational, negative, anti-safety or any other collections of emotive forms of rejection that are seated in the safety favourites of rationalism, behaviourism and positivism.
However, if you are interested in stepping outside the safety comfort zone and wish to find out more about ways of thinking, tackling risk and humanising persons that are unfamiliar, you can register for the Free Philosophy and Risk Workshops being run in May: https://safetyrisk.net/philosophy-for-risk-and-safety-free-workshops/
Prof. Robert Long
Latest posts by Prof. Robert Long (see all)
- Weick’s Expectations of the Unexpected - May 13, 2026
- The Non-Revolution in Safety - May 12, 2026
- Suspending Your Agenda to Begin Learning in Risk - May 11, 2026
- The De-Ethicization of the Object in Safety - May 9, 2026
- Weick’s Organising as ‘Consensually Validated Grammar’ - May 9, 2026
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