Kierkegaard Pt. 2 #6

            As a child grows up in modern America, they are taught to produce rational thought in order to be a functioning member of society. However over 150 years ago, a Danish philosopher named Soren Kierkegaard sought to challenge this notion. Kierkegaard questioned what people did in their life that would lead to a sense of meaning in the world. He argued that living a rational life will not lead to a heightened sense of meaning, and that humans would have to step out of their rational thinking in order to determine their purpose in life. While Kierkegaard pushed his listeners to live a more irrational and meaningful life, he was not pushing them to all lead the same lives with the same goals. In a video produced by 8-Bit Philosophy, Soren is quoted saying, “The crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me, and to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die”.  To help his followers develop a plan to find meaning, Kierkegaard divided life into three sections. He proposed that in order to find a true meaning in your life, you must complete two stages of understanding. The first stage was the aesthetic stage, which was followed by the higher ethical stage. The final stage was meant to be the peak, and was described to a combination of both stages. It was titled the religious stage, and was required for one to live a meaningful life. Kierkegaard believed that people should make decisions based on passion and drive, instead of letting predetermined ethics and rational thinking shift your opinion. Kierkegaard thought that devotion to an idea would lead to a higher truth. He even said, “An objective uncertainty, held fast through appropriation with the most passionate inwardness, is the truth, the highest truth there is for an existing person".

            Soren Regarded himself as a Christian, even at some point saying that in order to find a life worth living, you must believe in the Christian God. While Kierkegaard pushed others to keep a strong faith, specifically a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, he had his own struggles with his faith. Kierkegaard was known for being promiscuous and falling for the sin of the flesh on multiple occasions. He also sent mixed messages about his belief is Christianity, specifically his respect for those who have lived a life without Jesus. Kierkegaard is quoted to say, “It is possible both to enjoy life and to give it meaning and substance outside Christianity, just as the most famous poets and artists, the most eminent of thinkers, even men of piety, have lived outside Christianity”. While Kierkegaard may not have been the model Christian during his time, his views on a lesser need for rational thought, by looking for answers within oneself, is a basic call to action for that person to take a leap of faith. By following the speculative subject that is religion, and Christianity in particular, one is already betraying rational thought, and instead looking for answers within themselves instead of through a textbook or from an instructor. Kierkegaard wrote of a motivational philosophy, which challenged others to make their own leap of faith, in order to step out of a life where there are only objective truths. At the end of the day, Kierkegaard wanted other to find a purpose in their life, which is very similar to the goal of Christianity. To close out, here is a final quote about what should help determine meaning in your life, in the eyes of Kierkegaard himself. “No part of life ought to have so much meaning for a person that he cannot forget it any moment he wants to; on the other hand, every single part of life ought to have so much meaning for a person that he can remember it at any moment”.

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