The History and Work of Søren Kierkegaard

Taking a deep dive into philosophy, today we are talking about Søren
Kierkegaard. He was not only a philosopher, but also a theologian, poet, social critic
and religious author.
Born in Denmark in May 5th, 1813 and died in November 11th, 1855 (at the
age of 42), he wrote critical texts on organized religion, christianity, morality, ethics,
psychology, and the philosophy of religion, using metaphors, irony and parables.
Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how people live as a
"single individual", giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking
and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment.
 The focuses of Kierkegaard’s work

Kierkegaard's theological work focuses on christian ethics, the institution of

the church, the differences between objective proofs of Christianity, the infinite
qualitative distinction between man and God, and the individual's subjective
relationship to the God-Man Jesus the Christ, which came through faith.

Much of his work deals with Christian love. He was extremely critical of the
practice of Christianity as a state religion, primarily that of the Church of Denmark.
His psychological work explored the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced
with life choices.

Kierkegaard's early work was written under the various pseudonyms to

present distinctive viewpoints that interact in complex dialogue. He explored
particularly complex problems from different viewpoints, each under a different
pseudonym.

He wrote many Discourses under his own name and dedicated them to the
"single individual" who might want to discover the meaning of his works. Notably,
he wrote: "Science and scholarship want to teach that becoming objective is the
way. Christianity teaches that the way is to become subjective, to become a
subject."
While scientists can learn about the world by observation, Kierkegaard
emphatically denied that observation alone could reveal the inner workings of the
world of the spirit.
 Kierkegaard’s key ideas

Some of Kierkegaard's key ideas include the concept of "subjective and

objective truths", the knight of faith, the recollection and repetition dichotomy, angst,
the infinite qualitative distinction, faith as a passion, and the three stages on life's
way.

Kierkegaard wrote in Danish and the reception of his work was initially
limited to Scandinavia, but by the turn of the 20th century his writings were
translated into French, German, and other major European languages. By the mid-20th
century, his thoughts presented a substantial influence on philosophy, theology, and
Western culture.

In a general vision, the knight of faith is the paradox, is the individual,

absolutely nothing but the individual, without connections or pretensions. The knight
of faith is the individual who is able to gracefully embrace life: Kierkegaard put it
this way in Either/Or:

"When around one everything has become silent, solemn as a clear, starlit
night, when the soul comes to be alone in the whole world, then before one there
appears, not an extraordinary human being, but the eternal power itself, then the
heavens open, and the I chooses itself or, more correctly, receives itself. Then the
personality receives the accolade of knighthood that ennobles it for an eternity."

Kierkegaard also recognized three levels of individual existence: The

Aesthetic, The Ethical, and The Religious. In Fear and Trembling, Silentio (one of his
pseudonyms) refers to individuals in each stage as the personal self, the civic self,
and the religious self. Each of these levels of existence envelops those below it: an
ethical or religious person can still enjoy life aesthetically.

Abraham learned how to keep his finite relationship with his family separate
from his infinite relationship with God. He had to overcome the fear of having
anxiety over losing something. Each individual experiences anxiety to a different
degree and the fear of anxiety in a unique way.

In one popular interpretation of stage theory, each of the so-called levels of

existence envelops those below it: an ethical person is still capable of aesthetic
enjoyment, for example, and a religious person is still capable of aesthetic enjoyment
and ethical duty.

The difference between these ways of living are internal, not external, and
thus there are no external signs one can point to determine at what level a person is
living. This inner and outer relationship is commonly determined by an individual by
looking to others to gauge one's action, Kierkegaard believed one should look to
oneself and in that relationship look to Christ as the example instead of looking at
others because the more you look at others the less you see of yourself.

This makes it easier to degrade your neighbor instead of loving your

neighbor. But one must love the person one sees not the person one wishes to see.
Either love the person you see as that person is the person he is or stop talking
about loving everyone.
 The Journals of Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard's journals were the source of many aphorisms credited to the

philosopher. The following passage, from 1 August 1835, is perhaps his most often
quoted aphorism and a key quote for existentialist studies:

"What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must
know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a
purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to
find a truth which is truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live
and die."