Søren Aabye Kierkegaard

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was born in Copenhagen on May 5, 1813. He attended the University of Copenhagen to study theology, trying to make his father happy (his father wanted him to be a minister). However, Søren was more interested in liberal studies and philosophy. Earning his Master’s degree, he wrote his first major work, a dissertation called “The Concept of Irony.” In many of his writings, Kierkegaard used pseudonyms. As a writer, he did not achieve much success, he mostly attacked Christendom and showed his criticism for Hegel, a Western philosopher. Kierkegaard attacked Christendom, stating that truly becoming a Christian required an extremism, but the Danish State Church allowed all Danes to consider themselves Christians. Kierkegaard also introduced the three spheres of human existence: aesthetic, ethical, and religious. In the aesthetic sphere, people are only concerned with aesthetic pleasures. Eventually, people realize that they cannot find meaning in material things, and must move on to the next sphere of existence. In the ethical stage, an individual becomes aware of good and evil and adjust their lives to fit what they see and good and ethical. This person lives in obedience to duty. In the religious stage, the highest stage of development, an individual discovers a commitment and relationship with God. This stage is divided into two stages: Religiousness A and Religiousness B. Religiousness A refers to the religion of Socrates, and Religion B refers to the religion of Jesus Christ. Kierkegaard’s beliefs show influence in many writers as well as other philosophers of his generation and in the generations since.

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