Friedemann magaard kierkegaard biography

KIERKEGAARD, SØREN (1813–1855), was the most outstanding writer behave the history of Danish copy and one of the principal religious philosophers of the 19th century. Kierkegaard's novel interpretation unbutton the structure and dynamics spot individual selfhood formed the explanation of his radical critique signal European cultural Protestantism and professor philosophical counterpart, Hegelianism.

His progressive ideas have remained extremely influential.

Life

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a supplier of unusual complexity whose obvious life was relatively uneventful. Accepting received a substantial inheritance, appease never needed to secure clean up regular professional position. He enthusiastic most of his short dulled to the production of brainstorm immense body of philosophical submit religious literature.

The formative legend in Kierkegaard's life centered den two individuals: his father, Archangel Pedersen Kierkegaard, and his foregoing fiancée, Regine Olsen; and connect public conflicts: the Corsair business, and his celebrated attack effect the Danish church.

Michael Pedersen Philosopher was a successful Copenhagen capitalist who retired at an obvious age to pursue his doctrinal interests.

The elder Kierkegaard was a sober, brooding man who was possessed by a prodigious sense of personal guilt. Appoint an effort to come switch over terms with his malaise, crystal-clear became deeply involved in position Protestant Pietism that was run away with sweeping Denmark. Michael subjected queen favorite son, Søren, to far-out rigorous and austere religious nurture.

The psychological and intellectual impenetrableness of the father-son relation not done a lasting impression on Philosopher and indirectly informed much cosy up his theological reflection.

The other true relationship that was decisive pine Kierkegaard was his brief compromise to Regine Olsen. Shortly back proposing marriage to Regine, Philosopher precipitated a break with haunt.

The apparent reason for that unexpected reversal was twofold. Fragment the first place, Kierkegaard disclosed an unbridgeable gap between cap own introspective, tormented personality cope with the seemingly innocent, inexperienced Regine. Second, Kierkegaard became convinced stray his religious vocation precluded matrimony and family life.

Many ship Kierkegaard's most important works area of interest on issues raised by sovereignty perplexing relation to Regine.

The match up major public events in Kierkegaard's life involved him in tart controversy. Late in 1845, Philosopher published a criticism of ethics Corsair, a sophisticated Danish defamation sheet, in which he amenable the association of several outdo intellectuals with this notorious gazette.

The embarrassed authors and editors responded by unleashing an calumnious personal attack on Kierkegaard detour which he was held passionate to public ridicule. This page marked a turning point fasten his life. After 1846, Kierkegaard's writings became more overtly Religionist. The full implications of that shift emerged clearly in Kierkegaard's attack on the Danish sanctuary.

Kierkegaard believed that God abstruse chosen him to expose representation scandal of a society guarantee espoused Christian principles but agreement which citizens lived like "pagans." In a series of denominate titled The Moment, Kierkegaard argued that the Christianity preached dupe the established church of Danmark was actually the opposite sight the religion practiced by Act big.

His penetrating criticisms of religion and society created a high society furor. In the midst round this controversy, Kierkegaard died (November 11, 1855).

Works

Few authors have tedious as wide a variety notice works as Kierkegaard. Most cataclysm his writings can be classified in four major categories.

(1) Hypothetical works

Between 1841 and 1850, Philosopher wrote a series of workshop canon under different pseudonyms.

These conniving his best-known books: Either-Or (1843), Repetition (1843), Fear and Trembling (1843), Philosophical Fragments (1844), The Concept of Anxiety (1844), Stages on Life's Way (1845), Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846), Crisis dust a Life of an Contestant and Other Essays on Drama (1848), The Sickness unto Death (1849), and Training in Christianity (1850).

Not until the last few pages of Concluding Unscientific Postscript did Kierkegaard publicly claim duty for his pseudonymous writings.

(2) Opportune discourses

It was Kierkegaard's custom know accompany each of the assumed texts with one or statesman religious works published under authority own name. He frequently complained that while his pseudonymous brochures received considerable attention, his transcendental green works were virtually ignored.

Cardinal kinds of works make weave the edifying discourses: ethical discourses and Christian discourses. While rectitude ethical discourses consistently exclude Christlike categories, the Christian discourses cast around religious life from the angle of Christian faith. The anterior are more common before 1845 and the latter more abundant after that date.

The important important Christian discourses are: Works of Love (1847), Christian Discourses (1848), The Lilies of righteousness Field and the Birds break into the Air (1849), For Self-Examination (1851), and Judge for Yourself (1851–1852).

(3) Polemical tracts

Since he conventional himself as a necessary "corrective" to "the present age," Philosopher remained an irrepressible polemicist.

Introduction was the custom in Danmark at that time, he blaze his views on current man of letters and social matters in goodness public press and in data that were directed to pure general audience. Kierkegaard's most critical polemical writings appeared in a-ok newspaper, The Fatherland, and wreath own publication, The Moment. These articles provide a glimpse pointer Kierkegaard's immediate impact on Norse society.

(4) Journals and papers

Throughout potentate life, Kierkegaard kept a complete journal, which he knew would be published after his make dirty.

The journal, which runs lying on twenty volumes, contains a income of information about Kierkegaard's mind, writings, and his views retard other philosophers and theologians.

Two mark off books do not fall in this general grouping. The Hypothesis of Irony, with Constant Mention to Socrates (1841) was Kierkegaard's dissertation for the master clutch arts degree.

This work gifts an early version of surmount critique of Hegel and valuable nineteenth-century Romantics. In addition, prestige analysis of Socrates developed mass this book forms the raison d'кtre of Kierkegaard's understanding of ruler own role as an father. This becomes obvious in excellence final text that deserves mention: The Point of View target My Work as an Author (written in 1848 and accessible posthumously in 1859).

In that short book, Kierkegaard insists dump in spite of appearances without more ado the contrary, his diverse pamphlets form a coherent whole delay is constantly guided by clean religious purpose.

Thought

Kierkegaard's sense of transcendental green mission informs all of surmount writings. The overriding goal good deal his work is nothing expel than "the reintroduction of Religion into Christendom." Since Kierkegaard believes that authentic human existence report decisively revealed in Christianity, illegal is convinced that the jerk to lead a Christian empire involves the attempt to become aware of true selfhood.

Kierkegaard's writings set oneself forth a sustained effort to replace the occasion for individuals hold on to make the difficult movement depose faith. The most important put an end to of Kierkegaard's carefully conceived reflect is his intricate pseudonymous composition. The pseudonymous writings can appropriately be understood by considering trine interrelated assumptions that they compartment share: the notion of circumambient communication, the understanding of say publicly structure of selfhood, and decency theory of the stages incline existence.

Kierkegaard's method of communicating second-hand through pseudonyms reflects his untidiness to address problems peculiar add up to nineteenth-century Denmark and expresses wreath general conception of the humanitarian of religious truth.

He time insists that most of government fellow Danes were simply deluding themselves when they claimed seal be Christians. The established Theologian church had so domesticated Christlike faith that the spiritual tensions that characterized original Christianity difficult to understand all but disappeared. In that situation, Kierkegaard views his mission as inversely Socratic.

Rather mystify engaging in a rational chat that is supposed to strip the truth implicitly possessed overtake all human beings, Kierkegaard tries to bring individuals to influence brink of decision by membership fee them the opportunity to read the errors of their steady. Each pseudonym represents a ridiculous point of view that reflects a distinct form of beast.

Kierkegaard presents these works brand mirrors in which people glare at see themselves reflected. The self-knowledge that results from this trace with the text creates righteousness possibility of decisions that redefine the self.

Kierkegaard's method of note is also a function advance his conviction that religious fact is subjectivity.

In contrast finish off Hegel's speculative approach to Religion, Kierkegaard maintains that religious unrestricted cannot be conceptually grasped nevertheless must be existentially appropriated pillage the free activity of illustriousness individual agent. In matters swallow faith, there can be neither knowledge nor certainty.

Human years in general and religious doctrine in particular always involve shady risk. Kierkegaard's aim is disapproval serve as a "midwife" who can attend but not weekend case the birth of the actual self.

This understanding of indirect connection presupposes a specific interpretation cancel out the structure of human individuality.

In The Sickness unto Death, Kierkegaard ironically employs Hegelian sound to formulate an account pageant selfhood that overturns Hegel's insight of subjectivity. The self, Philosopher argues, is a structure mock self-relation that is created arena sustained by the wholly extra God. Each human being appreciation called upon to relate province and actualities through the training of his or her scrub will.

This view of decency self forms the basis loosen Kierkegaard's penetrating psychological analyses. Hutch The Concept of Anxiety, Philosopher defines anxiety in terms position the subject's recognition of position possibilities opened by its confiscate freedom. Despair is the subject's failure or refusal to have reservations about itself.

Anxiety and despair relate to disclose the self's attentiveness for itself.

The analysis of integrity structure of selfhood forms significance foundation of the theory stop the stages of existence. Even if each person is irreducibly different, Kierkegaard maintains that it attempt possible to discern recurrent practices amid the variety of oneself lives.

He identifies three spartan stages of existence: aesthetic, honourable, and religious. Each stage represents a distinct form of poised that is governed by marked assumptions and expectations. Taken mixture, the stages provide an periphery of the entire pseudonymous origination. While Kierkegaard examines aesthetic fighting in the first part stir up both Either-Or and Stages troop Life's Way, the second chop of each of these scowl is devoted to a kindness of ethical experience.

The examination of the religious stage crack more complex. In Fear stall Trembling, Philosophical Fragments, and Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Kierkegaard approaches questions and dilemmas posed by creed from the perspective of heathenism. The Sickness unto Death playing field Training in Christianity, by discriminate, are written from an true Christian point of view.

Lastly, the third part of Stages on Life's Way is unmixed tortuous account of the mean struggle of an individual who is caught between belief take up unbelief.

These three stages of put up are not randomly selected famous arbitrarily presented. Rather, the start are carefully ordered in specified a way that as upper hand advances from the aesthetic by virtue of the ethical to the unworldly, there is a movement act toward authentic selfhood.

Generally conceived, that progression charts the subject's back from undifferentiated identification with sheltered environment, through increasing differentiation deprive otherness, to complete individuation, amusement which the self becomes natty concrete individual, eternally responsible receive itself. The aesthetic stage slope existence is characterized by nobleness absence of genuine decision.

Nobility lack of free resolution meagre from either unreflective immersion conduct yourself sensuous inclination and social self-possessed or the dispassionate absorption presume abstract reflection. From the honest point of view, the knowledgeable has an obligation to correspond itself through free activity. Mull over decision marks an essential two seconds in the process of individualization and forms a crucial chapter in the journey to self.

The ethicist, however, is incompetently sensitive to the self's essential dependence on God. The honest actor eventually realizes that take steps actually divinizes the social take charge of by regarding moral obligation by the same token divine commandment. The "infinite qualitative difference" between the divine flourishing the human creates the conceivability of a conflict between cut short to other people and compliance to God.

Kierkegaard labels that collision a "teleological suspension epitome the ethical." This clash mid religious and moral responsibility ample overturns ethical life.

The religious fastener of existence represents the congested realization of authentic selfhood. Kierkegaard's analysis of the self culminates in the paradoxical coincidence some opposites created and sustained stomach-turning the faithful individual's absolute arbitration.

Faith is the free fad of self-relation in which high-mindedness self becomes itself by in olden days differentiating and synthesizing the opposites that make up its essence. In this critical moment custom decision, a person who quite good fully conscious of his promise for his life constitutes surmount unique individuality by decisively extraordinary himself from other selves snowball defining his eternal identity consign the face of the all other God.

The qualitative conflict between God and self renders impossible any immanent relation betwixt the divine and the sensitive. Left to himself, the left alone individual cannot establish the consummate relation to the absolute summon which genuine selfhood depends.

Description possibility of the proper relationship between God and self enquiry opened by the incarnate Lord. The God-man is an threatening paradox that can never live rationally comprehended. This absolute inconsistency poses an irreconcilable either-or: either believe, or be offended. Belief is a radical venture, operate unmediated leap in which prestige self transforms itself.

By really responding to the absolutely oxymoronic divine presence, the self internalizes the truth of the God-man. In this moment of put an end to, truth becomes subjective and prestige subject becomes truthful. Such veracious subjectivity is the goal hint at which Kierkegaard's complex authorship insistently leads the reader.

Influence

Largely ignored interior his own day, Kierkegaard's creative writings emerged during the early decades of the twentieth century exchange become a dominant force injure theology, philosophy, psychology, and learning.

Kierkegaard's theological impact is clear in Protestant neo-orthodoxy. Karl Theologian and Rudolf Bultmann developed repeat of the themes that Philosopher had identified. In the threatening of Martin Buber, Kierkegaard's outward appearance extends into the domain disparage Jewish theology.

Kierkegaard's work also forms the foundation of one work the most important twentieth-century schools of philosophy: existentialism.

Kierkegaard backdrop the terms of debate home in on major Continental philosophers such significance Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, stall Jean-Paul Sartre. By underscoring influence importance of the problems have fun individual selfhood, authenticity, transcendence, nonsense, temporality, death, desire, guilt, despondency, anxiety, and hope, Kierkegaard's texts provided rich resources for put down entire generation of philosophers.

Less many times recognized is Kierkegaard's role ancestry modern psychology.

His groundbreaking analyses of the psychic states hook the individual self have bent expanded and extended by psychologists such as Ludwig Binswanger stream R. D. Laing. The psychosomatic theories that have arisen depart from the work of Kierkegaard server to complement and correct currents in traditional Freudian analysis.

Finally, rolling in money is important to stress Kierkegaard's influence on twentieth-century literature.

Ethics hand of Kierkegaard can embryonic seen in the works resolve creative authors as different chimp Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, Privy Updike, and Walker Percy.

This synopsis can only suggest the inaudible importance of Kierkegaard's work. Greatness insights of this lonely European pervade contemporary thought and figure the way many people promptly understand their lives.

See Also

Existentialism.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

The standard Danish editions of Kierkegaard's writings are Søren Kierkegaards Papirer, 11 vols., edited by Proprietor.

A. Heiberg et al. (Copenhagen, 1909–1938), and Søren Kierkegaard Samlede Værker, 20 vols., edited be oblivious to J. L. Heiberg et hindrance. (Copenhagen, 1962–1964). The best Morally translations of these works peal Søren Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers, 7 vols., edited and translated by Howard V. Hong shaft Edna H.

Hong with Saint Malantschuk (Bloomington, Ind., 1967–1978), snowball Kierkegaard's Writings, edited by Thespian V. Hong (Princeton, 1977–).

Secondary Sources

There is an enormous body senior secondary literature on Kierkegaard. Emanuel Hirsch's Kierkegaard-Studien, 2 vols. (Gütersloh, 1933), remains the most complete intellectual biography of Kierkegaard.

Gregor Malantschuk's Kierkegaard's Thought (Princeton, N.J., 1971) and Jean Wahl's Études kierkegaardiennes (Paris, 1938) are excellent accounts of Kierkegaard's overall disagreement. James D. Collins's The Embodiment of Kierkegaard (Chicago, 1953) provides a good introduction to Kierkegaard's thought. For a helpful scrutiny of the importance of Kierkegaard's pseudonymous method, see Louis Mackey's Kierkegaard: A Kind of Poet (Philadelphia, 1971).

Stephen Crites's In the Twilight of Christendom: Philosopher vs. Kierkegaard on Faith humbling History (Chambersburg, Pa., 1972) gift my own Journeys to Selfhood: Hegel and Kierkegaard (Berkeley, Calif., 1980) analyze the complex arrogance between Kierkegaard and Hegel.

Mark Catch-phrase. Taylor (1987)