On May 5th, 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark, Søren Kierkegaard was born the seventh and youngest child of well-to-do couple Michael Pedersen Kirkegaard and Ane Sørensdatter Lund. Often described as wistful, anxious and witty, Kierkegaard would live to become what most believe now to be one of the very first existentialist philosophers, albeit it was not he himself who coined the term.
Kierkegaard had an expressed passion for writing and published many works through which he depicted his philosophical beliefs. Some of his most famous works include Either/Or, Fear and Trembling, and On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates which collectively tackle timeless philosophical topics such as the meaning of life, the manner in which we should live, and the manner in which we believe in things. The subject and overall function of marriage and romantic love was also among his explored topics and the target for some of his criticisms, many of his perceptions likely having been conceived through his own lacking personal relationships with women.
Despite the gloomy themes throughout his writings and the seemingly bleak angle at which he approached life and its meaningfulness, Kirkegaard was a believer of God; however, contrary to what many other Christian philosophers sought through work, Kierkegaard had no interest in trying to “think” through some series of convoluted logical hoops to prove God’s existence, but rather believed that “to have faith is precisely to lose one’s mind so as to win God.” In other words, Kirkegaard believed that in order to truly find God one had to abandon all prospect of defining Him with what little capacity to understand our human minds have and to instead take a “leap of faith” and believe in God despite not being able to comprehend his existence or alternatively the lack thereof.
Sources:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/kierkega/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9JCwkx558o
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/50772-sygdommen-til-d-den
Kierkegaard had an expressed passion for writing and published many works through which he depicted his philosophical beliefs. Some of his most famous works include Either/Or, Fear and Trembling, and On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates which collectively tackle timeless philosophical topics such as the meaning of life, the manner in which we should live, and the manner in which we believe in things. The subject and overall function of marriage and romantic love was also among his explored topics and the target for some of his criticisms, many of his perceptions likely having been conceived through his own lacking personal relationships with women.
Despite the gloomy themes throughout his writings and the seemingly bleak angle at which he approached life and its meaningfulness, Kirkegaard was a believer of God; however, contrary to what many other Christian philosophers sought through work, Kierkegaard had no interest in trying to “think” through some series of convoluted logical hoops to prove God’s existence, but rather believed that “to have faith is precisely to lose one’s mind so as to win God.” In other words, Kirkegaard believed that in order to truly find God one had to abandon all prospect of defining Him with what little capacity to understand our human minds have and to instead take a “leap of faith” and believe in God despite not being able to comprehend his existence or alternatively the lack thereof.
Sources:
http://www.iep.utm.edu/kierkega/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9JCwkx558o
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/50772-sygdommen-til-d-den
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