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# Oblivion's Sheogorath and Kierkegaard's Sickness unto Death (Mythic Mind Games, ep. 34)
- URL: https://mythicmindfellowship.com/oblivions-sheogorath-and-kierkegaards-sickness-unto-death-mythic-mind-games-ep-34/
- Published: 2026-01-23T14:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:16:45.000Z
- Author: Andrew Snyder

Mythic Mind GamesEpisode 34

# Oblivion’s Sheogorath and Kierkegaard’s Sickness unto Death (Mythic Mind Games, ep. 34)

Dr. Andrew Snyder

23 January 2026

[Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)

## In this episode

Oblivion’s Shivering Isles splits madness into Mania and Dementia. Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death names those poles as despair of infinitude and despair of finitude, then diagnoses Sheogorath’s defiance as the self that will not be itself.

In this Elder Scrolls & Philosophy talk, Dr. Andrew Snyder reads Bliss and Crucible, Thadon and Syl, Jyggalag and Sheogorath through Christian existential psychology: why unchecked possibility and hyper-limitation both destroy the self, and how the Champion of Cyrodiil integrates finitude and infinitude in a leap of faith toward an authentic whole. Along the way: Chesterton on sane insanity, Nietzsche’s madman, Augustine on the tyrant as slave, and a closing line from Fear and Trembling.

### People

**Dr. Andrew Snyder**Host and speaker

### Key themes

- Mania and Dementia as despair of infinitude and finitude
- Defiance as the self that will not be itself
- Integrating finitude and infinitude

## Chapters

1. [00:00Introduction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=0s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
2. [01:54Kierkegaard’s philosophy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=114s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
3. [04:42Despair and dementia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=282s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
4. [07:16Mania and infinitude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=436s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
5. [12:13Virtue and freedom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=733s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
6. [14:49The nature of the self](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=889s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
7. [17:06Integrating the self](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=1026s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
8. [23:01Defiance and synthesis](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=1381s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)
9. [25:41Conclusion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZUgEUzaBXU&t=1541s&ref=mythicmindfellowship.com)

Choose a chapter to jump the video to that moment.

## Related

- [**The Story of Oblivion: Shivering Isles, Sheogorath, and the Greymarch (Mythic Mind Games, ep. 33)**Watch the episode](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-story-of-oblivion-shivering-isles-sheogorath-and-the-greymarch-mythic-mind-games-ep-33/)
- [**The Story of Skyrim: Dragonborn, Civil War, and Destiny (Mythic Mind Games, ep. 35)**Watch the episode](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-story-of-skyrim-dragonborn-civil-war-and-destiny-mythic-mind-games-ep-35/)

## Go deeper

The Cosmos

### [The Moon](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/cosmos/)

The First Heaven

Find it on the Cosmos

The Inkwell

### [The Sickness unto Death: Kierkegaard on Despair and the Self](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-sickness-unto-death-kierkegaard-on-despair-and-the-self/)

Most people in despair do not know it. Kierkegaard shows where our most fundamental decisions place us, and why the opposite of despair is not happiness but faith.

Read the essay

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[Previous in Mythic Mind GamesThe Story of Oblivion: Shivering Isles, Sheogorath, and the Greymarch](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-story-of-oblivion-shivering-isles-sheogorath-and-the-greymarch-mythic-mind-games-ep-33/)[Next in Mythic Mind GamesThe Story of Skyrim: Dragonborn, Civil War, and Destiny](https://mythicmindfellowship.com/the-story-of-skyrim-dragonborn-civil-war-and-destiny-mythic-mind-games-ep-35/)

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