“… in historical knowledge an approximation is the only certainty— but also too little on which to build an eternal happiness.”
Soren Kierkegaard , concluding unscientific postscript to philosophical fragments, volume one, page 30
This is the case for historiography in general and most importantly for historical Jesus scholarship to which SK alludes in the text. Historical research is an asymptote that always approaches the truth but never arrives. Preoccupied with their objective, both secular scholars and Christian apologists seem to forget this.
Both Kierkegaard’s view of historical knowledge as uncertain and Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty suggest limitations on what can be known. Kierkegaard argued that historical knowledge cannot achieve the same scientific accuracy as natural sciences. Objective scientific laws do not apply to history. The uncertainty principle limits the ability to perfectly know the simultaneous values of certain physical properties.
Kierkegaard emphasized the subjective interpretation of historical facts, highlighting the role of individual choice in understanding history. Heisenberg’s principle emphasizes the influence of the observer and measurement on the observed reality in the quantum world, leading to a degree of subjective interpretation when interpreting measurement results.
In summary, while Kierkegaard’s philosophical exploration of uncertainty in human existence and history does not directly presage the specifics of Heisenberg’s quantum mechanics, both thinkers, from their distinct fields, touched upon the theme of limitations on knowledge and the role of subjectivity in our understanding of the world.