Søren Kierkegaard

Sean Turner

The Beginning

• 1813-1855• Copenhagen •  Father was an

unusually devout Christian

Education

• University of Copenhagen

• Studied Theology• Well versed in

literature• Kierkegaard

styled himself above all as a religious poet

Areas of Study and Work

• Philosophy • Theology• Psychology• Existentialism

The Father of Existentialism

• Kierkegaard believed in a Creator, and in Christianity.

• Recognized that he was faithful by choice, not out of logic.

• He was primarily a philosopher who asked searching questions as to how best, that precious and rare thing, a Human life, ought to be lived. 

Three Stages of Life

• Aesthetic: concerned with experiences, materialism, and other life approaches dedicated to pleasure or personal gratification.

• Ethical:  recognize the despair of aesthetics, and are compelled to find greater meaning in life. Self awareness, long term.

• Religious individuals experience both suffering and faith. Only at this level does one truly understand the self.

Existentialism• The individual, the self, was everything to Kierkegaard.• Every decision made redefines the individual.• Kierkegaard contended that living is the art of the

existentialist, while previous philosophies engages only in thought.

• Philosophers were studying concepts, but not the individual behind the concepts.

Religion

• Not regurgitating church dogma

• Matter of individual subjective passion

• Faith is the most important task to be achieved by a human being

Religion

• The individual is thereby subject to an enormous burden of responsibility.

• Within his/her choices hangs his/her eternal salvation or damnation.

Self-Centered?

•  He was an untiring champion of “the single individual” as opposed to “the crowd.”

Philosophy, Existentialism, and Psychology.

• “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”

• “A man who as a physical being is always turned toward the outside, thinking that his happiness lies outside him, finally turns inward and discovers that the source is within him.”

Philosophy, Existentialism, and Psychology.

• “Be that self which one truly is.”

• “Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are.”

• “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

• “Life has its own hidden forces which you can only discover by living.”

A Quote

• “People understand me so poorly that they don't even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.”

• Christian Discourses (Christelige Taler)• The Concept of Anxiety (Begrebet Angest)• The Concept of Irony (Om Begrebet Ironi)• Concluding Unscientific Postscript (Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift)• The Crisis and A Crisis in the Life of an Actress (Krisen og en Krise i en Skuespillerindes Liv)• Edifying Discourses in Diverse Spirits (Opbyggelige Taler i forskjellig Aand)• Either/Or (Enten - Eller)Fear and Trembling (Frygt og Bæven)• For Self-Examination: Recommended to the Present Age (Til Selvprøvelse. Samtiden anbefalet)• Four Upbuilding Discourses (1843) (Fire opbyggelige Taler)• From the Papers of One Still Living (Af en endnu Levendes Papirer)• The Highpriest - The Publican - The Woman, which was a Sinner (Ypperstepræsten - Tolderen -

Synderinden)• Judge for Yourself! (Dømmer selv!)• The Lilies of the Field and the Birds of the Air (Lilien paa Marken og Fuglen under Himlen)• A Literary Announcement (En literair Anmeldelse)• The Moment (Øieblikket)• On my Work as an Author (Om min Forfatter-Virksomhed)• Philosophical Fragments (Philosophiske Smuler)T• he Point of View of My Work as an Author (Synspunktet for min Forfatter-Virksomhed)• Practice in Christianity (Indøvelse i Christendom)• Prefaces (Forord)• Repetition (Gjentagelsen)• The Sickness Unto Death (Sygdommen til Døden)• Stages On Life's Way (Stadier paa Livets Vei)• Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions (Tre Taler ved tænkte Leiligheder)T• hree Upbuilding Discourses (1844) (Tre opbyggelige Taler)• Two Minor Ethico-Religious Treatises (Tvende ethisk-religieuse Smaa-Afhandlinger)• Two Upbuilding Discourses (1844) (To opbyggelige Taler)• Two Upbuilding Discourses at Friday Eucharist] (To Taler ved Altergangen om Fredagen)• An Upbuilding Discourse (1850) (En opbyggelig Tale)

• Works of Love (Kjerlighedens Gjerninger)[edit]

Why Should we Listen?

• It depends– Deeply religious Christian – Criticism of philosophy – Emphasis on the individual

Metaphor of the Theatre

Metaphor of the Theatre

• Theatre = Church

• Listeners = members of congregation

• Audience = God

• Prompter = preacher encouraging

• Actor = individuals

Works Cited

Thompson, Andrew. Desiring Repetition: Søren Kierkegaard's Metaphor of the Theater in Dialogue with Contemporary Worship Leadership Models. Rep. Print.

"Søren Kierkegaard (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/#Life>.

"Kierkegaard." Philosophy Pages. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://www.philosophypages.com/ph/kier.htm>.

"Existential Primer: Søren Kierkegaard." Tameri Guide for Writers: Index Page. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/kierkegaard.shtml>.

Kierkegaard, Søren [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/kierkega/>.