Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christianity, morality, ethics, psychology, and the philosophy of religion, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony, and parables. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a "single individual", giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. He was against literary critics who defined idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, and thought that Swedenborg, Hegel, Fichte, Schelling, Schlegel, and Hans Christian Andersen were all "understood" far too quickly by "scholars". Kierkegaard's theological work focuses on Christian ethics, the institution of the Church, the differences between purely 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 doctrine and practice of Christianity as a state-controlled religion like the Church of Denmark. His psychological work explored the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced with life choices.
He was born in an immensely wealthy family in Copenhagen in 1813, the youngest of seven children. Death was around him constantly from a young age and was to obsess him throughout his career, it is, in a sense, his only theme. Not only he's extremely physically frail but by the time he was 22, all of his siblings had died except him and a brother. it drove him into a furious production of books over 15 years, on a single day in 1843 he published no less than 3 works. He wasn't writing for the money; he was working to serve himself and humanity, as it happens, he made it to the age of 42, then died of an excruciating spinal disease. In "Either/Or" and "Fear and Trembling", what Kierkegaard wants to do above all is wake up and give up our cozy sentimental illusions. He systematically attacks the pillars of modern life: our faith in family, our trust in work, our attachment to love, and our general sense that life has a purpose and meaning. His enemies were their smug in all their guises, particularly, the prosperous Danish Haute Bourgeoisie, and the members of the established Danish Church. he told us “When I was young, I forgot how to laugh in the cave of Trophonius; when I was older, I opened my eyes and beheld reality, at which I began to laugh, and since then, I have not stopped laughing. I saw that the meaning of life was to secure a livelihood and that its goal was to attain a high position; that love’s rich dream was marriage with an heiress; that friendship’s blessing was help in financial difficulties; that wisdom was what the majority assumed it to be; that enthusiasm consisted in making a speech; that it was courage to risk the loss of ten dollars; that kindness consisted in saying, “You are welcome,” at the dinner table; that piety consisted in going to communion once a year. This I saw, and I laughed.” Kierkegaard was especially caustic about the 19th-century understanding of love and a new ideology about passionate marriage and love, which aim to unite desire with prudence, but Kierkegaard mocked the notion one could ever fuse romantic laugh with marriage. it led him to one memorable explosion in "Either/Or": "If you marry, you will regret it; if you do not marry, you will also regret it; if you marry or if you do not marry, you will regret both; whether you marry or you do not marry, you will regret both. Laugh at the world’s follies, you will regret it; weep over them, you will also regret it; if you laugh at the world’s follies or if you weep over them, you will regret both; whether you laugh at the world’s follies or you weep over them, you will regret both. Believe a girl, you will regret it; if you do not believe her, you will also regret it; if you believe a girl or you do not believe her, you will regret both; whether you believe a girl or you do not believe her, you will regret both. If you hang yourself, you will regret it; if you do not hang yourself, you will regret it; if you hang yourself or you do not hang yourself, you will regret both; whether you hang yourself or you do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This gentleman is the sum of all practical wisdom." and the last part he wrote: "Life can only be understood backward, but we must live forwards"
I think that's all for now and I realize that philosophy is quite amusing and it breaks all mater of social norms by living life with your own mind and abide by no rules.
"Angst er frihedens svimmelhed."
