Overview
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. Fear and Trembling, Either/Or, and the Sickness unto Death remain central. Handbook dates: 1813–1855. He is often called existentialism’s grandfather.
Main ideas
Truth is subjectivity: appropriation matters more than objective surplus of results. Stages of life—aesthetic, ethical, religious—name existential spheres, not mere theories. Faith is a paradoxical leap, as in Abraham’s trial, beyond universal ethics’ mediation. Anxiety and despair diagnose the self before God. Indirect communication via pseudonyms respects the reader’s freedom. Critique of the crowd and the present age targets leveling modernity.
Major works
- Either/Or
- Fear and Trembling
- The Sickness unto Death
- Philosophical Fragments
Legacy
Kierkegaard shaped existential theology, phenomenology, and literary modernism. Protestant and secular readers fight over his Christian intent. He remains the classic of anxious individuality.
Themes in this archive
Self (2) · Freedom (1) · Choice (1) · Life (1) · Courage (1)