SØREN KIERKEGAARD [SIR-UHN KEER-KUH-GARD] By Katie, Brianna, Logan, and Tess. 7 th period

HERE’S THE GUY:

WHO IS HE? widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher Born on May 5 th, He was influenced early in life by his father’s Christian teachings, which focused on Christ’s sufferings. Studied theology, philosophy, and literature at the University of Copenhagen in Called off his engagement because he felt that a relationship would distract him from his philosophic calling. Published lots of books/articles on Philosophy Passed away in 1855.

WHAT DOES HE BELIEVE IN? Everyone would die, but also have an immortal life. People are bored when they are not being stimulated, either physically or mentally. Relief from boredom can only be fleeting. Conflicts between one’s ethical duty and one’s religious duty cause anxiety. Despair is a result of the tension between the finite and the infinite. Humans are frightened of dying, but they are also frightened of existing forever. Each individual passes through three stages on the way to becoming a true self: the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious. The aesthetic is the realm of sensory experience and pleasures. The aesthetic life is defined by pleasures, and to live the aesthetic life to the fullest one must seek to maximize those pleasures. Ethics are the social rules that govern how a person ought to act. He believed the religious life to be the highest plane of existence. He also believes that almost no one lives a truly religious life.

SOCIETY/FAMILY POV? His father had cursed God due to his hardship and poverty as a shepherd child. Even though shortly later he was rescued from this life and became very prosperous, he felt that the blessings upon his family were an irony, and in fact God's revenge. PS – whole family died except for brother, Peter. For Kierkegaard, true individuality is called selfhood. Becoming aware of our true self is our true task and endeavor in life—it is an ethical imperative, as well as preparatory to a true religious understanding. Individuals can exist at a level that is less than true selfhood. We can live, for example, simply in terms of our pleasures—our immediate satisfaction of desires, propensities, or distractions. In this way, we glide through life without direction or purpose. To have a direction, we must have a purpose that defines for us the meaning of our lives. Everything related with society is a distraction from individuality.

WHO INFLUENCED HIM? Kierkegaard’s quest was to attend a series of lectures by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling (1775–1854), who was known for his opposition to the ideas of Georg Hegel. Schelling had been closely associated with Hegel; Kierkegaard was interested in Schelling’s evolution as a thinker. Listening to Schelling’s lectures, Kierkegaard began to develop his own ideas, which would later contribute to existentialism. Sibbern and Møller were both philosophers who also wrote fiction. The latter in particular had a great influence on Kierkegaard's philosophico-literary development. Kierkegaard's first major publication, From the Papers of One Still Living, is largely an attempt to articulate a Heibergian aesthetics—which is a modified version of Hegel's aesthetics

SUMMARY Very religious (Christian) man. Whole family died except for brother Peter. Born in 1815, died in Everyone would die, but also have an immortal life. People are bored when they are not being stimulated, either physically or mentally. Relief from boredom can only be fleeting. Conflicts between one’s ethical duty and one’s religious duty cause anxiety. Despair is a result of the tension between the finite and the infinite. Humans are frightened of dying, but they are also frightened of existing forever. Each individual passes through three stages on the way to becoming a true self: the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious. The aesthetic is the realm of sensory experience and pleasures. The aesthetic life is defined by pleasures, and to live the aesthetic life to the fullest one must seek to maximize those pleasures. Ethics are the social rules that govern how a person ought to act. He believed the religious life to be the highest plane of existence. He also believes that almost no one lives a truly religious life.

WE’RE DONE, YAY!