Kierkegaard

Tori Armstrong, Mason Teague, Kennedy Gunn, Zak Mcglamery

Biographical InformationSoren Kierkegaard was born on May 5,

1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark.Kierkegaard attended the University of

Copenhagen, where he received his doctoral degree in theology.

Later on in his life he became a well-known author.

He was known for being a Christian existentialist.

his Aesthetic Kierkegaard's main concern was about how the human life ought to be lived. He believed that the concept of a ‘meaningful’ human life was entirely relevant. He believed that before a person could have a meaningful life he must first find something to base his life around. To him there were three ‘existence spheres’, aesthetic, ethical and religious

and these sphere that a person choose greatly influenced the person they would become. For himself Kierkegaard chose the third sphere of religion. He based his life on a strict faith so that he could attain ‘full unity of purpose’ with the people that also chose this sphere. He followed this life choice strictly by constantly studying biblical philosophies.

his ethical point of view For Kierkegaard the word ethical had more than one meaning. He believed that an individual should have a personal code of ethics while still maintaining their religious beliefs. He believed in a power higher than social norms.

In order for an individual to come upon a religious faith, they must first embrace an ethical point of view. An individual must also make a commitment in order to rise above an aesthetic lifestyle. This commitment raises the individual above such a life and into a more ethical point of view which becomes a life of commitment to communication and decision procedures.

influenced by...Kierkegaard was influenced by socrates and Plato, who was taught by socrate, in his belief that the best way to knowledge was to question everything. Kierkegaard used the socratic method in his everyday life by questioning his religion beliefs constantly.

He believed that the only way for somebody to truly understand and not just memorize something is to have the person come to the conclusion himself. Socrates ideals on how knowledge is obtained is one of the only influences he had. His philosophy teachers while he was at the prestigious boys school, Borgerdydskolen, Sibbern, Poul Martin Møller, and H.L. Martensen were also big influences

in his works in philosophies. He even considered H.L. Martensen to be his intellectual rival and often competed with him through the publication of his books.

Spiritual HistoryKierkegaard was a very religious based philosopher who had many strong christian beliefs. He most likely became a Christian due to his surroundings as a young child, who was easily influenced by the things taught to him at such a young age.

bibliographyhttp://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/

http://sorenkierkegaard.org

http://www.iep.utm.edu/kierkega/