We tell you who Søren Kierkegaard was and what his contributions were to philosophy. Furthermore, his life, his work and the reception of his thought.
Who was Søren Kierkegaard?
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a 19th-century Danish philosopher and theologian, known today as the father of existentialism.
Kierkegaard's thought focused on the notions of existence, freedom, responsibility, despair and anguish. His ideas were worked on by philosophers such as Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), who considered Kierkegaard as a direct antecedent of the existentialist movement of the 20th century.
The most representative works of Kierkegaard's philosophy are Either one or the other (1843), Fear and trembling (1843), The concept of anguish (1844) and Treaty of Despair (1849). All of them were published under different pseudonyms, such as Victor Eremita, Johannes de Silentio, Vigilius Haufniensis and Anti-Climacus.
Existentialism is a philosophical movement of the 20th century that maintains that first one exists and then acquires an essence, since this is a construction and not something determined. The existentialists were inspired by many of Kierkegaard's ideas to develop their concepts.
Life of Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard was born on May 5, 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Coming from a wealthy family, his father, Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard, was a successful merchant, and his mother, Anne Sørensdatter Lund, a devout religious woman. Both exerted a notable influence on Kierkegaard's work, especially in relation to religious matters and in works such as Fear and trembling.
Between 1821 and 1830 Kierkegaard attended the School of Civic Virtue, where he studied Latin and history. In 1830, he began studying theology at the University of Copenhagen, where he was noted for his intellectual acuity and literary abilities. In 1838, the same year his father died, he earned his degree in theology, but his main interest leaned toward philosophy. During his student years, he established friendships with leading figures of the time, such as the theologian Hans L. Martensen (1808-1884) and the philosopher Poul Martin Møller (1794-1838).
In 1841, Kierkegaard became engaged to Regina Olsen, a young Danish woman with whom he had a turbulent relationship that influenced much of his work. However, that same year, he canceled the engagement, which caused him a deep emotional and spiritual crisis.
Throughout his life, Kierkegaard wrote on philosophical, religious, and existential themes. His most notable works include Either one or the other (1843), Fear and trembling (1843) and The deadly disease (1849), in which he developed his ideas about anguish, choice, faith and individual existence. His writings were often presented under various pseudonyms.
Søren Kierkegaard died on November 11, 1855 in Copenhagen, at the age of 42. His philosophical and literary legacy has had a significant impact on existentialist philosophy, Christian theology, and the understanding of subjectivity and authenticity in the human experience. Although he did not achieve great notoriety during his lifetime, his writings have been widely studied and recognized as a fundamental contribution to the philosophical thought of the 19th century.
Thoughts of Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard was one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century. He tackled a wide range of themes in his extensive work, with a particular focus on anguish, existence, freedom, responsibility and despair. These concepts reflect his concern for the human condition and the search for meaning and authenticity in life.
- Anguish as an existential condition. Kierkegaard maintained that anxiety is an inevitable part of human existence, arising from the responsibility that comes with having to make decisions. The individual faces a dilemma between opposing options, which generates existential anxiety. Anxiety arises from the awareness that any choice implies giving up other possibilities, which leads the individual to face uncertainty and insecurity.
- Individual existence and subjectivity. For Kierkegaard, each individual is unique and faces the existential task of discovering and realizing his or her authentic self. This task emphasizes the importance of subjectivity and interiority in human life. True understanding of oneself involves honest introspection and the search for authenticity in decision making.
- Freedom and personal responsibility. Kierkegaard recognizes freedom as an essential characteristic of human nature. However, he highlights that freedom comes with the responsibility of facing the consequences of the choices made. Authentic freedom implies a committed and responsible choice, assuming responsibility for actions and decisions.
- Despair and its overcoming. In his analysis of despair, Kierkegaard describes a condition in which the individual evades responsibility and seeks refuge in empty projects or superficialities. Overcoming despair involves an honest awareness of one's situation and an acceptance of personal responsibility. True freedom is found in authenticity and responsible commitment to life.
Thus, through his analysis of these themes, Kierkegaard left a lasting legacy in existentialism and contemporary philosophy. His focus on authenticity and the search for the true self has inspired generations of thinkers to reflect on the human condition and the search for meaning in life.
Works by Søren Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard wrote works that explored topics such as existence, religion, ethics, and the philosophy of life. Some of the most notable are:
- Either one or the other (1843). It is a work that explores choice and decision-making in human life, and raises questions about existence, faith and ethics.
- Philosophical crumbs (1844). It is a set of essays that address philosophical and religious themes, and that present some of Kierkegaard's key ideas, such as the importance of subjectivity and faith.
- Fear and trembling (1843). It is an in-depth analysis of the sacrifice of Isaac in the Bible, where Kierkegaard explores the relationship between faith and ethics, and questions conventional ethics compared to religious ethics.
- Or the repetition (1843). It is a work that raises the idea of repetition in human life and the possibility of learning from past mistakes. It also addresses the idea of temporality and individual experience.
- The concept of anguish (1844). It is a profound exploration of anguish as a fundamental experience of human existence and its relationship to sin, freedom and responsibility.
- The desperate before the dialectic of love (1844). It is the introduction to Either one or the otherwhere Kierkegaard presents his idea of three spheres of existence: the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious.
- Definitive and non-scientific postscript to philosophical crumbs (1846). It is an extensive work in which Kierkegaard addresses questions of philosophy, religion and theology, and criticizes Hegelian philosophy.
- The Deadly Disease / Treatise of Despair (1849). It is a profound exploration of anguish and despair in human life, as well as the search for authentic identity and relationship with God.
Reception of the work of Søren Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard's work had a great impact on the philosophy of the 19th and 20th centuries, especially after 1930 with the emergence of the existentialist movement in France. French philosophers and writers, such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Karl Jaspers (1883-1969), and Albert Camus (1913-1960), found in Kierkegaard's ideas a deep resonance with the existential themes that they themselves would later explore.
Kierkegaard influenced the development of French existentialism by emphasizing anguish, individual freedom, responsibility, and the search for authenticity in human life. His philosophy exerted a lasting influence on French intellectual culture and helped establish a foundation for the subsequent flourishing of existentialism in 20th-century philosophy and literature.
Furthermore, many contemporary philosophers, such as Emmanuel Lévinas (1906-1995), Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002), Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) and Richard Rorty (1931-2007), took up his thinking. Martin Heidegger, precursor of all of them, incorporated some concepts worked on by Kierkegaard into his work, for example, anguish.
Kierkegaard also had a great impact in other areas outside of philosophy, such as literature. Authors such as Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986), Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) or WH Auden (1907-1973) recognized themselves as great debtors of Kierkegaardian thought.
References
- Adorno, T. W. (2006). Kierkegaard. Construction of the aesthetic (Vol. 62). Akal Editions.
- Binetti, M.J. (2015). Kierkegaard's idealism. Iberamerican University.
- Kierkegaard, S. (2000). The Essential Kierkegaard. Princeton University Press.
- Kierkegaard, S. (2022). Fear and trembling. Lindhardt og Ringhof.
- Ramírez, C. (1999). Preparing the return to reality: introduction to five existentialist thinkers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus, Jaspers. EUNED.
