Q0400
“Despair is a sickness of the spirit.” — Søren Kierkegaard (The Sickness unto Death)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Sickness unto Death. Theme: self.
English
Despair is a sickness of the spirit.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to The Sickness unto Death and files it under Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was a Danish religious author and critic of Christendom who wrote under pseudonyms exploring aesthetic, ethical, and religious existence. Inheriting a melancholy family fortune, he attacked Hegelian system and lukewarm official faith in Copenhagen.
Interpretation
Kierkegaard calls despair a sickness of the spirit rather than of the body or mind, because on his account what fails is the relation a person holds toward themselves. The illness is structural: the self is a relation, and despair is that relation misheld. He distinguishes forms in which a person is unaware of having a self from forms in which they refuse to be the self they are, and treats the second as the more serious. Its gravity comes from being unnoticed.
Why it matters
The uncomfortable claim is that the condition can be severe without feeling like anything. Not feeling distressed is not evidence of not being in it.
Concepts in this quote
- Self
- Philosophy quotes about self explore identity, responsibility, and the examined life—from Socrates’ unexamined life to modern phenomenology and existential authenticity.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Søren Kierkegaard. (n.d.). Despair is a sickness of the spirit. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0400
MLA: Søren Kierkegaard. “Despair is a sickness of the spirit..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0400.
Chicago: Søren Kierkegaard. “Despair is a sickness of the spirit..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0400.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Despair is a sickness of the spirit.”?
The passage is attributed to Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness unto Death. The archive attributes this English wording to The Sickness unto Death and files it under Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Søren Kierkegaard mean by self?
To ask about the self is to ask what persists through experience, what can be known from the first-person point of view, and how character is formed. Some traditions treat the self as a substantial soul; others as a stream of experience, a social role, or a practical center of agency. This passage enters that discussion through self.