Exploring Søren Kierkegaard: Pursuing Authenticity and Existential Freedom — History of Philosophy #2
sketch by Niels Christian Kierkegaard, Royal Library, Copenhagen, c. 1840
Søren Kierkegaard was a 19th-century Danish philosopher, theologian, and prolific writer often considered the first modern existentialist philosopher. His philosophy focused on individual spiritual states and human existence.
Søren Kierkegaard sought to find an answer to the question: what is the purpose of human existence? The Danish philosopher and poet believed that human existence signifies a connection with transcendence, a desire to break free from mere existence into true being. Religion is an expression of this aspiration.
Kierkegaard, desiring to break with philosophical tradition, created works of an almost religious nature in a new, literary style. After all, he was a theologian and poet who sought the appropriate language to express personal faith experiences.
The life of Kierkegaard, often referred to as the Danish father of existentialism, was marked by a conviction that he was under a curse. His biography is material for a poignant, sad, and fascinating novel.
In the early 1830s, Kierkegaard began his theological studies, during which he also explored ancient ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophies of Hegel and Schleiermacher. In 1841, he attended Schelling's lectures in Berlin but quickly became disillusioned.
At 23, following his siblings' deaths, Kierkegaard experienced a deep crisis, doubting his faith and distancing himself from his father's religious teachings. His father's unexpected death in 1838 jolted Kierkegaard from his path of perceived sin. He interpreted this event as a sign of his father's love, believing his father had departed for his sake, to inspire his personal growth.
Kierkegaard viewed human existence as a continuous process of becoming, in which individuals seek authenticity by trying to reconcile their earthly limitations with their aspirations for eternity. He believed that humans are a combination of the worldly and the divine and that one's relationship with God is deeply personal and individual.
Kierkegaard's philosophy emphasizes that true existence requires constant growth and cannot be confined to rigid frameworks or abstract concepts. A key aspect of his thought is the conviction that human existence signifies a connection with transcendence - a desire to surpass ordinary existence and achieve true being, which is expressed through religion.
Søren Kierkegaard's philosophy, as reflected in his renowned work "Fear and Trembling and The Sickness unto Death," captures the essence of human existence through its focus on anxiety and despair. He believed that universal truths are discovered in the concrete experiences of individual lives and that the foundation of our existence is rooted in fear and unhappiness.
This perspective encapsulates Kierkegaard's belief in the inherent paradoxes and difficulties of human existence. In his view, anxiety differs from fear in that it lacks a clear cause. Instead, it stems from the inevitable tension between our sensual and spiritual natures.
Kierkegaard argued that the internal conflict within humans is impossible to overcome and that every choice we make is fraught with regret.
As he famously wrote:
Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy.
Kierkegaard's philosophy, at its core, is a profound exploration of human existence.
It challenges us to confront the uncomfortable truths and embrace the uncertainties. His emphasis on individual experience and subjective truth laid the groundwork for what would later become known as existentialism.
Søren Kierkegaard urges us to embark on a lifelong journey of self-discovery, encouraging us to live authentically and passionately in the face of life's inherent absurdities and challenges.
1. The Philosophy of Existence
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced”
In his reflection, Søren Kierkegaard deliberately focused on his own life, making it the subject of philosophical contemplation. He believed that the only true philosophy stems from life - a view that Friedrich Nietzsche later shared and expanded upon. Kierkegaard maintained that the only life we truly know is our own experience.
For this reason, Kierkegaard's biography plays a crucial role in all monographs and studies dedicated to him. Some commentators even argue that without this knowledge, one cannot fully understand the thoughts of the Danish philosopher.
Other commentators do not go so far in their remarks. They argue that while events from Kierkegaard's life inspired his reflections, the philosopher's conclusions have autonomous value. This is because he attempted to answer universal questions and provided original responses to them.
Kierkegaard's philosophy is therefore not subjective in nature. Nor is it objective; for instance, the Danish philosopher consistently rebelled against the objectivism of Hegelian idealism. Instead, Kierkegaard's reflections always represented a tight fusion of the subjective and the objective.
“A human being is a synthesis of the infinite and the finite, of the temporal and the eternal, of freedom and necessity, in short, a synthesis.“
Kierkegaard believed that we discover what is objective - universal truths - not in abstract speculation, but in concrete human life. Therefore, what is general is always hidden in what is specific and reveals itself through concrete experiences.
Operating with general concepts and categories, thoughts inevitably simplify and schematize everything. Therefore, no philosophy, reasoning, or language can fully express the truth of human existence, which is something unique and unrepeatable. So, the truth about existence can only be accessible through inner experience.
The concept of existence is one of the central ideas in Kierkegaard's philosophy. He often described humans as "existing spirits".
Additionally, Kierkegaard rejected the concept of the self as a real entity. He believed that human consciousness exists in a tension between two irreducible and mutually exclusive dimensions - the concrete and the universal.
“A human being is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation that relates itself to itself or is the relation's relating itself to itself in the relation“
For Kierkegaard, the concrete exists in a constant, dynamic tension with the universal. Neither element can be reduced to the other - this tension itself is human consciousness.
At times, Kierkegaard elevated the concept of self as a relation to a higher level of abstraction, stating that it is not just a relationship between opposing elements, but also a relationship to that relationship.
This complex view of self and consciousness underscores Kierkegaard's understanding of human existence as a dynamic, ongoing process rather than a fixed state. It emphasizes the inherent tension and reflexivity in human consciousness, where we are not just aware of our experiences, but also aware of our awareness.
Kierkegaard believed that true understanding emerges not from abstract thought but from personal experience and the choices we make. He emphasized the importance of facing life's uncertainties head-on and making meaningful decisions amid existential anxiety. For Kierkegaard, living authentically means embracing the paradoxes of existence and committing to a path of personal faith and responsibility.
At the core of Kierkegaard's philosophy is the idea that existence is a deeply individual experience. In this experience, we confront our choices, freedom, and responsibilities, leading to a life of authenticity filled with inner struggles and spiritual depth. Kierkegaard saw the human spirit as our inner essence, bridging body and mind, and expressing both consciousness and freedom. It is this spirit that allows us to reflect on ourselves, strive for authenticity, and forge relationships with God and our own conscience.
Given Kierkegaard's belief that true understanding comes from concrete human life experience and that the only genuine philosophy stems from life itself, it's crucial to mention his critique of Hegel. Kierkegaard strongly opposed Hegel's abstract, systematic approach to philosophy and his concept of Absolute Spirit.
For Kierkegaard, spirit was the inner essence of the individual, focused on personal struggles, freedom, and relationship with God, being the source of authentic life and self-reflection. In contrast, Hegel saw spirit as universal and collective, encompassing the development of consciousness through history and culture.
Kierkegaard criticized Hegel's philosophy for concentrating too heavily on systematic and abstract thinking, which he believed ignored individual experience and existential struggles. He argued that real life cannot be captured in any philosophical system because it is too complex, full of paradoxes, and tied to the subjective, often painful reality of existence.
In opposition to Hegel's abstract universalism, Kierkegaard emphasized subjective truth and personal faith. He maintained that the most significant truths are not objective facts that can be systematized, but passionate commitments made by individuals facing uncertainty.
Kierkegaard's critique of Hegel underscores his commitment to a philosophy grounded in lived experience, personal choice, and individual responsibility. It highlights the fundamental difference between a philosophy that seeks to explain everything through abstract concepts and one that embraces the messy, paradoxical nature of human existence.
Kierkegaard's philosophy of existence focuses on personal experience and authenticity, emphasizing that true life consists of individual choice and responsibility. He believed that the individual must confront existential challenges and inner fear to find genuine meaning and fully live their life.
He believed that true freedom lies in courageously accepting responsibility for these choices, even in the face of inherent uncertainty and anxiety.
2. Three Stages of Existence
As mentioned earlier, Søren Kierkegaard believed that human existence signifies a connection with transcendence, a desire to break free from mere existence into true being, and religion is an expression of this aspiration.
Kierkegaard examined the constitution of human identity and the relationship between humans and God. In doing so, he defined three types of existence: aesthetic, ethical, and religious.
Explaining the hierarchical relationship between the stages, Kierkegaard compared human existence to a house. The aesthetic stage is like the basement, the ethical stage is the ground floor, and the religious stage is the first floor. People can move from one level to another, but although this progression is desirable, it's not mandatory.
Some people live their entire lives in the basement, others on the ground floor, and still others on the first floor. Any transition always occurs through a "leap," which involves commitment and an act of choice: either-or.
“the more origination of God, the more self; the more one thinks of oneself, the more they think of God”
The aesthetic stage is a state in which our senses take the lead, where one plays with life without setting goals or seeking values within oneself.
The aesthetic stage, the lowest of all life stages, is characterized by the pursuit of pleasant sensations and the avoidance of discomfort. In this stage, individuals are driven by sensory desires and possibilities, unable to make true choices, and constantly shifting between various fleeting desires.
Kierkegaard illustrated the nature of the aesthetic stage through the examples of Don Juan and Nero.
Don Juan never commits to any single relationship, as doing so would mean losing all other possibilities. He perpetually lives in the potential of new experiences, unable to make a definitive choice.
Nero, on the other hand, exemplifies the trap of aesthetic living. To avoid boredom and suppress anxiety, such an aesthete seeks increasingly sophisticated forms of pleasure.
“Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads.“
Both characters, however, eventually succumb to melancholy - a deep sadness and apathy that Kierkegaard considers inevitable in the aesthetic stage. According to Kierkegaard, melancholy takes two forms. The first is a conscious and deliberate decision to withdraw from reality; the person closes themselves off, resulting in complete isolation from the world. The second form is a heaviness of mind that occurs unconsciously, indicating a lack of maturity and hindering personal growth.
Therefore, even the all-powerful Nero reaches a point beyond which it's impossible to avoid melancholy. Kierkegaard believed that melancholy is the reason we abandon the aesthetic life and seek a different way of living. He referred to melancholy as "the hysteria of the spirit."
In this stage, the spirit, which is also part of our being, is trapped in sensuality. Melancholy, therefore, is the voice of the spirit trying to free itself from the chains of sensuality within us.
It's worth noting that in the aesthetic stage, a person lives in a world without true choice. They may choose one desire over another, but this choice is illusory. Melancholy forces them to make a real choice - between sensual life and their true self, their own soul.
"Let us look as how they fling themselves from one pleasure to another: their password is variation. Do they desire something that is always the same? On the contrary, they want something that is never the same.“
In the aesthetic stage, we exist in an undefined state - chasing one desire one moment, another the next. According to Kierkegaard, in this stage, we don't know who we truly are.
The second stage is the ethical stage, where a person primarily makes conscious choices, and these choices define who we are. Moral norms, commitments, loyalty, and a sense of responsibility are the characteristics of life in the ethical stage.
In this stage, individuals develop self-discipline, learning to forgo pleasurable things in the name of principles and ethical living. By doing so, they affirm their freedom, as they can independently decide to give up pleasures – they can make choices.
While the ethical stage is distinguished by taking responsibility and moving beyond sensuality and pleasures, it's not enough to achieve fulfillment. One feels that something is missing.
“His identity is summed up by the series of universals that clothe him. He is nothing but a collection of social roles: husband, father, civil servant. The problem is that the preceding description could fit any number of people“
In the ethical stage, a person becomes immersed in despair arising from uncertainty about their principles. They are not sure whether they have chosen good and righteous principles.
The choice of good cannot be arbitrary, yet every human choice is inherently arbitrary. This constant uncertainty again evokes anxiety, which manifests as despair.
A person full of responsibility, seeking certainty in their decisions, looks for support in transcendence. In this way, they enter the religious stage.
The religious stage is characterized by recognizing the limitations of human existence and seeking to connect with a higher power or divine will. A relationship with God becomes the ultimate ground of moral duty and existential purpose.
The religious stage is closely tied to freedom and self-awareness. Although life in this final stage is the most authentic, it does not mean overcoming anxiety, as anxiety is inherent in human existence and cannot be eliminated.
“to have faith is precisely to lose one's mind so as to win God.”
Even in the religious stage, one must make choices and thus understand their helplessness in the face of infinity. Consequently, one must make an act of faith - relying on God despite the lack of evidence proving His existence. But this reliance must be total and absolute.
This complete dedication to God means being ready to question all human ideas. The bond between a person and God becomes deeply personal and one-of-a-kind, built on total trust. People at this stage accept that they might face any challenge. Faith in this stage is not just belief but a form of existence, and an acceptance of one's own fragility and uncertainty in the face of divine infinity.
In its fullest form, the religious stage brings a sense of wonder. It makes us let go of everyday logic, but in return, we find strength in something bigger than ourselves.
Kierkegaard, often called the forerunner of existentialism, studied the human identity and our relationship with God. His three stages of existence form the core of his philosophy, which we can describe as an exploration of the path to one's true self.
Kierkegaard's ideas challenge us to examine our own lives and choices. He encourages us to move beyond mere existence and strive for authentic living.
3. Anxiety
Anxiety is a key concept in Kierkegaard's philosophy. According to the Danish philosopher, the experience of anxiety is an inherent element of human existence.
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.“
It’s worth noting that Kierkegaard distinguishes between anxiety and fear. We feel fear towards something concrete and tangible, something we know and can point to, whereas anxiety has no specific cause; it is simply inscribed in the nature of existence.
Anxiety arises from the inevitable tension between our sensual and spiritual nature. While this internal conflict in humans is insurmountable, we must embrace it and take responsibility for it.
Human beings are unable to fully integrate the two opposing dimensions of their nature into a single whole in their existence. Living in a purely sensual way, one suffers from a lack of spirit – the more one strives towards the spiritual, the more one is pulled back towards sensual concreteness. However, one always experiences anxiety.
“Whoever has learned to be anxious in the right way has learned the ultimate.“
If we were purely spirit, there would be no anxiety. If we were purely body, there would be no anxiety. But we live in two worlds simultaneously, and this divide is the source of our despair. Even if we don't feel it, according to Kierkegaard, anxiety is still within us—waiting.
Kierkegaard believes we can't fully reconcile our spiritual and physical nature. This leads to what he calls the 'fall' of man. This fall is deeply rooted in our nature. Even before we experience specific failures or disappointments in life, we're already in a fallen state. Kierkegaard argues that even when theoretically innocent, we're destined for anxiety and despair.
In his book 'The Concept of Anxiety', he compares this to the biblical story of original sin. According to him, even Adam before committing the first sin wasn't entirely free from anxiety. This anxiety stems from the tension between our spiritual and physical nature and is present in every human from the very beginning.
According to Kierkegaard, anxiety and unhappiness are fundamental aspects of our existence. Even when we feel happy, he argues that we're actually unhappy at a deeper level. Unhappiness and anxiety are our true nature, while happiness, peace, or fulfillment are just temporary states or even illusions. Untroubled happiness, therefore, goes against human nature.
While Kierkegaard's view might seem pessimistic, his goal wasn't to discourage people. Instead, he believed that recognizing and embracing our anxiety could lead to personal growth and authenticity.
For Kierkegaard, the key isn't to eliminate anxiety but to learn from it and use it as a catalyst for self-improvement and spiritual development.
4. Despair
According to Kierkegaard, the starting point of philosophy is not wonder, as the Greeks claimed, but rather despair.
“With every increase in the degree of consciousness, and in proportion to that increase, the intensity of despair increases: the more consciousness the more intense the despair.”
Despair is one of the most important categories in Kierkegaard’s philosophical thought. For Kierkegaard, despair represents a loss of one's own psychological personality. This occurs when the self begins to resist its own destiny, and does not allow its individual identity to be actualized.
In this state, the individual becomes "sick unto death" - not in the biological sense of physical death, but in a spiritual sense. This spiritual "sickness unto death" kills the self, as it prevents the person from fully realizing their authentic identity.
Kierkegaard saw this despair as a fundamental condition of human existence. It arises when the self is unable to reconcile the tension between its finite and infinite aspects, between temporality and eternity. Overcoming this despair is a crucial task for the individual seeking to live an authentic life.
Kierkegaard presents various forms of despair - from despair that does not know it is despair, all the way to despair where one doubts whether one even wants to be. He analyzes despair first from the perspective of self-consciousness of the self, and later through the prism of the elements that constitute the synthesis in a human being. In this first distinction, he identified two types of conscious despair:
1) despair associated with the awareness that one does not want to be oneself
2) despair due to the desire of being oneself
However, Kierkegaard stated that the most widespread is the unaware despair, which consists in the lack of self-consciousness of the self, meaning the human spirit does not perceive that it possesses a self. The possibility of salvation creates despair over one's own "self", as it produces the awareness of its existence.
Looking at the elements of synthesis, Kierkegaard further distinguished additional forms of despair:
despair of the infinite
despair of the finite
despair of possibility
despair of necessity
Falling into any of these forms of despair leads to the elimination of one of the elements of the synthesis, losing half of one's existence. This not only impoverishes the personality but also undermines the very synthesis that constitutes the individual. The philosopher thus emphasizes the unresolvable tragedy of human existence - those who opt for finitude condemn themselves to nothingness, while those who choose the infinite condemn themselves to torment. Kierkegaard believed that despair would only be removed when the individual's identity is actualized through faith.
This deeper exploration of the different manifestations of despair stemming from the tensions within human synthesis further illustrates the profound complexity of the human condition that Kierkegaard sought to elucidate.
“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.”
In Kierkegaard's view, when confronted with God, the individual must regard despair as a sin - a specific attitude towards the divine for which they bear personal responsibility. Importantly, Kierkegaard saw sin as possessing a positive significance, as it arises through the process of overcoming despair and occurs in the very presence of God.
Where Socrates equated sin with a lack of intellectual virtue or simple ignorance, Kierkegaard emphasized that the truly crucial factor is the individual's willful choice. Even when one knows how they should act, in accordance with divine Revelation, the sin lies in the conscious decision to nonetheless act otherwise. This highlights Kierkegaard's belief that the individual's identity can only be fully actualized and liberated from despair through the transformative power of faith.
This distinction between sin as willful disobedience versus mere intellectual deficiency further underscores Kierkegaard's understanding of the profoundly personal and existential nature of the human condition. By situating despair and sin within the context of the individual's relationship with the divine, he challenges the individual to confront their own culpability and find the courage to align their actions with their deepest spiritual convictions.
Kierkegaard's concept of despair is a complex psychological and spiritual state that arises from the individual's struggle with their own identity and existence. It manifests in various forms, from unconscious despair where one is unaware of their own self, to conscious despair where one either refuses to be oneself or desperately desires to be oneself. Despair, in Kierkegaard's view, is not merely an emotional state but a fundamental condition of human existence, stemming from the tension between finite and infinite aspects of the self, and can only be overcome through a leap of faith and the actualization of one's true identity.
Kierkegaard's exploration of despair reveals the complexity of human existence and suggests that by acknowledging and navigating the despair inherent in the human condition, individuals can find greater clarity, purpose, and ultimately, self-realization.
5. The Essence of Faith
“Faith is the highest passion in a human being. Many in every generation may not come that far, but none comes further.“
Throughout the ages, people have grappled with the question of whether faith provides comfort or an existential struggle. In Kierkegaard's philosophy, it is decidedly the latter.
Previously, we mentioned the three stages of existence. The Danish philosopher posits that the religious stage, although the pinnacle of human existence, does not provide solace but rather a stark confrontation with our inner turmoil and sense of guilt. It is in this religious stage that a person can accept their fear and cease fleeing from themselves. Despite the uncertainty that they now understand will never leave them, they become capable of action.
But is this unflinching acceptance of our fractured nature truly the essence of faith? Kierkegaard suggests that genuine faith doesn't eliminate our inner conflicts or provide easy answers. Instead, it equips us to live authentically amidst life's inherent contradictions.
“It is not the path which is the difficulty; rather, it is the difficulty which is the path.”
This perspective challenges the conventional idea that faith brings peace. Instead, Kierkegaard sees faith not as an escape from life's complexities, but as a means to engage with them more deeply. In Kierkegaard's view, faith becomes a tool for self-realization and a catalyst for meaningful action in an uncertain world.
Interestingly, for Søren Kierkegaard, faith was not merely a set of beliefs or doctrines, but a passionate, personal commitment that transforms one's entire existence.
For Kierkegaard, faith is not certainty, peace, comfort, or salvation, but a state of constant spiritual tension. Its essence lies in taking action despite fundamental uncertainty. Using the story of Abraham, the Copenhagen thinker demonstrated the unresolvable tension between human ethics and religiosity.
It's important to note that moral norms have social origins, while religious norms are divine. Since there's an infinite chasm between humans and God, there's also an incommensurability between moral and religious norms. Referring to the story of Abraham, God commanded him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as proof of his faith. It's easy to see that such a command is immoral from a purely ethical standpoint - yet according to Kierkegaard, religion transcends morality.
Unlike rational knowledge, faith involves embracing uncertainty and making a 'leap of faith' - a concept that has become one of Kierkegaard's most famous contributions to philosophy.
Kierkegaard believed that the essence of the crisis in Christianity was the attempt to judge religious dogmas from moral and aesthetic perspectives.
Kierkegaard referred to Abraham, who decided to fulfill God's will, as the "knight of faith" - his greatness lies in the fact that he decided to take this step against all odds.
Kierkegaard's religious thought strongly emphasizes the paradoxical and absurd nature of faith. Faith requires abandoning all calculations, reason, certainty, and to some extent, even hope. It's worth noting that Abraham had no certainty that the command to sacrifice his son came from God.
Abraham does not ponder whether this is a test or not, whether he has gone mad or not - he simply suspends his thinking and goes to kill his son.
"Yet Abraham believed, and believed for this life. Yea, if his faith had been only for a future life, he surely would have cast everything away in order to hasten out of this world to which he did not belong. But Abraham's faith was not of this sort, if there be such a faith; for really this is not faith but the furthest possibility of faith which has a presentiment of its object at the extremest limit of the horizon, yet is separated from it by a yawning abyss within which despair carries on its game."
Kierkegaard contrasts this faith, full of absurdity and darkness, which he calls "Religiousness B", with the traditional, false "Religiousness A". The latter is a combination of aesthetic and ethical elements - the person lives in a state of self-satisfaction, convinced that being a Christian stems from the act of baptism and church attendance, accompanied by a feeling of certainty and clarity, and the hope of achieving happy immortality.
Their vision of paradise is similar to living in an eternal aesthetic stage. Kierkegaard accuses the Church of cultivating such a vision of Christian life.
Kierkegaard's concept of "Religiousness A" refers to a superficial, complacent form of religiosity, where faith is based on external rituals and traditions rather than a deep, personal commitment. In contrast, "Religiousness B" represents the kind of faith that Kierkegaard championed - one that embraces the paradoxical, absurd, and often dark nature of existence, requiring a leap of faith that defies reason and certainty.
Many people question whether God had the right to demand that Abraham sacrifice his own son. According to Kierkegaard, God absolutely had that right, because God is an infinite and transcendent being. God has the full authority to require things from humans that may seem irrational and absurd from a human perspective.
This is the essence of faith according to Kierkegaard - the situation of Abraham is so absurd and contradictory to human morality that it requires a "leap of faith", a complete trust in God against reason and one's own feelings.
For Kierkegaard, faith is a path full of risk and requires great moral courage. Additionally, it must flow from an individual's own choice and commitment, as only a faith based on personal experience and willingness to sacrifice can lead to an authentic relationship with God.
Kierkegaard's philosophy of faith and his distinction between Religiousness A and Religiousness B is intriguing from a religious perspective. Based on Kierkegaard's philosophy, one could potentially reform modern religious life. Instead of focusing on external practices and rituals, it would emphasize subjective faith experiences centered on personal commitment, awareness of absurdities and paradoxes, and taking risks, rather than passively accepting dogmas or seeking comfort and certainty.
This is a fascinating thought experiment, as it's unclear how believers and the church would react. It raises the question of whether it's too heavy a burden to give up the comfortable "Religiousness A" criticized by Kierkegaard in favor of a more challenging but deeper spirituality.
“I believe because it is absurd“ — Tertullian
This quote from Tertullian seems to capture the essence of faith according to Kierkegaard, which lies in paradox and absurdity. It requires rejecting human reason and logic in favor of complete trust in God — making a "leap of faith."
Even for those who don't share Kierkegaard's religious beliefs, his philosophy offers valuable insights into personal authenticity, the courage to commit in the face of uncertainty, and the importance of passionate engagement with life's big questions.
6. Existing Spirit and Writing Strategy
Kierkegaard, widely regarded as one of the pioneers of existentialism, viewed humans as "existing beings." This concept is central to his philosophy and forms a fundamental tenet of existentialism. In Kierkegaard's view, a human is not a static entity but a dynamic being in a constant state of becoming.
This means that human existence is characterized by continuous change, self-creation, ongoing experiences, and subjective reality — our existence is deeply personal and cannot be fully understood from an objective standpoint.
“An existing individual is constantly in process of becoming,... and translates all his thinking into terms of process. It is with (him)... as it is with a writer and his style; for he only has a style who never has anything finished, but 'moves the waters of the language' every time he begins, so that the most common expression comes into being for him with the freshness of a new birth.“
It's worth adding that to describe one's existence, which is something that cannot be fully embraced or comprehended, Kierkegaard developed a special writing strategy.
Firstly, Kierkegaard wrote only in the first person singular - the subject of the thinker's reflection can only be his own existence, accessible directly through inner experience.
Secondly, to capture the ever-changing nature of existence, Kierkegaard used various pseudonyms. This multiplicity of authorial voices represented the many facets of a single self.
Thirdly, Kierkegaard employed diverse literary forms such as monologues, dialogues, diaries, correspondence, and essays. This approach allowed him to blend philosophy and literature, expressing the unthinkable through literature and infusing existential focus into literary works.
Fourthly, this philosophical literature, due to its subjective, elusive, and changeable nature, heavily relied on irony — mockery, malice, or sarcasm hidden within seemingly approving statements.
“Irony is a disciplinarian feared only by those who do not know it, but cherished by those who do.”
It's worth noting that in Kierkegaard's philosophical literature, irony is not merely a rhetorical technique but constitutes an existential phenomenon in itself. It allows one to distance oneself from reality and adopt a life stance that enables individuals to transcend commonly accepted assumptions about reality.
Kierkegaard's concept of subjectivity emphasizes that while we always exist in relation to others and our environment, we retain the power to choose our response and even redefine our situation through an ironic stance.
In Kierkegaard's existentialism, irony is not a form of escapism but a tool for engaging with reality.
He argues that human identity is not predetermined, but an ongoing task shaped through various, often conflicting life situations. This identity must be understood in context rather than in isolation from the world. Irony allows individuals to critically examine their circumstances and make conscious choices, thus actively participating in the continuous process of self-creation.
In Kierkegaard's view, humans live amidst irreconcilable contradictions that shape our choices, rather than being guided by a fixed identity. We are a synthesis of these choices, but it's an endless process. We constantly try to balance opposing aspects of our reality: body and spirit, necessity and freedom, finitude and infinity.
This internal division and the impossibility of achieving lasting equilibrium mean that anxiety and despair are normal states of human existence. Our identity is not set but continuously formed through our responses to life's inherent contradictions.
Additionally, it’s worth revisiting the previously mentioned three stages of existence in light of Kierkegaard's view on irony. Kierkegaard places irony in a crucial transitional role, stating:
"Irony is the cultivation of the spirit and therefore follows next after immediacy; then comes the ethicist, then the humorist, then the religious person."
This quote shows how irony in Kierkegaard's writing functions as a bridge between the stages. Firstly, it allows one to move beyond the immediate aesthetic stage. Secondly, irony, by encouraging critical reflection and distance from reality, prepares one for the ethical stage. Thirdly, it paves the way for the religious stage by showing that the mind itself is not able to fully grasp reality, therefore we need to make a leap of faith.
This leap of faith arises from paradoxes that reason cannot resolve. For example, it's challenging to understand how God could take human form (Christ), how we can be responsible for something we didn't do (original sin), or how Abraham sacrificing his son is not considered murder. God remains silent, and it's impossible to rationally prove even his existence.
Therefore, the ironic stance helps us embrace the absurdity of reality, which is an inseparable part of our existence. We experience these absurdities, but they are very difficult to express in writing or speech. So, irrationality paradoxically brings us closer to God, though without any guarantee of success. It's an act of uncertainty and risk - entirely free, but one that generates "Fear and Trembling."
Irony thus serves as a tool for personal growth, enabling individuals to progress through these stages toward a more authentic existence. It allows people to question their current state and potentially advance to the next level of self-awareness and commitment, ultimately leading to a profound, if uncertain, relationship with the transcendence.
Kierkegaard views the human subject as an open structure, shaped by transcendence and the incomprehensible. We form our identities through practical choices rather than theoretical knowledge, existing in a constant tension between the finite and infinite, the comprehensible and the absurd.
For Kierkegaard, the human subject cannot be fully described or understood theoretically; it must be "practiced" through lived experience. This belief stems from the limitations of language in expressing existence, leading Kierkegaard to emphasize indirect communication in his writing strategy.
His philosophy of the existing spirit in constant becoming aligns closely with his unique writing approach. Kierkegaard employs various pseudonyms, literary forms, and irony to indirectly communicate the complexities of existence. This strategy reflects his conviction that existence cannot be fully grasped or expressed directly, but must be approached through diverse, often ironic perspectives.
Additionally, Kierkegaard's approach to existence and his unconventional writing strategies anticipate later philosophical movements, including 20th-century existentialism, dialogue philosophy, and postmodernism.
7. Critiques and Confrontations
Kierkegaard firmly opposed the speculative philosophy of his era that attempted to understand reality through abstract reasoning and grand, all-encompassing theories, often detached from concrete human experience.
Danish thinker argued that idealism, rationalism, and abstract thinking were incapable of explaining unique human experiences. Consequently, the philosopher sought a form of reflection that would capture individuality and personal existence.
As we previously mentioned Kierkegaard was a critic of Georg Hegel, who embodied the idealistic detachment from existence, as he viewed humans through the lens of historical laws, reducing the importance of the individual, which Kierkegaard fought against. As he said:
“[Everyone] has a history, and this is not merely a product of his own free actions. The inner work, on the contrary, belongs to him and must belong to him.“
In place of idealism, Kierkegaard sought a philosophy that would preserve individuality in spirituality and allow for discussion of the individual anxiety and despair of a single person.
Therefore, Kierkegaard criticized rationalism as an attempt to capture the complexity and uniqueness of the individual within rational, limited, and general conceptual categories that are ultimately unable to embrace the truth of human existence.
Another significant challenge for Kierkegaard was the crisis of theology, which we mentioned when discussing the essence of faith. According to the Danish thinker, in the face of Kantian rationalist critique of traditional theology, all discussion about God and faith had been reduced to abstract speculations.
Kierkegaard rejected the language of traditional theology and philosophy and instead sought a language that could express the true experience of faith.
“What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; 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.”
According to Kierkegaard, contemporary institutionalized Christianity was increasingly becoming a shallow moralism, from which the true depth of faith was disappearing, and religion was taking on a utilitarian character.
Kierkegaard was concerned that organized religion was losing its spiritual essence and becoming more focused on social norms and practical benefits rather than genuine faith.
Therefore, the philosopher from Copenhagen sought to renew truly Christian life. He aimed to breathe a new spirit into Christianity based on embracing the paradoxical, absurd, and often dark nature of existence.
It's also worth noting that the philosopher lived in the first half of the 19th century, so a significant reference point for the Copenhagen thinker was the development of modern technological society, which had already experienced the First Industrial Revolution. This further reinforced society's belief in the power of modern empiricism and realism, promoting scientific objectivity as a new kind of faith. Additionally, this period was marked by subsequent revolutions and mass labor movements.
Kierkegaard's philosophy, based on individuality and irrationality, was also a rebellion against scientific language and mass movements. Additionally, Kierkegaard often emphasized the non-scientific nature of his philosophy. As we mentioned earlier, the Danish philosopher frequently incorporated literary elements into his philosophical works to better capture existence, something difficult to embrace fully.
Kierkegaard, who often wrote about anxiety, demonstrated that science and reason are helpless when it comes to the question of existence:
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
The subjectivity of truth in Kierkegaard's philosophy underscores the individual nature of existential experience.
Kierkegaard believed that the most profound truths are those that resonate deeply with an individual's own existence, even if they cannot be proven or universally applied.
Summary
Søren Kierkegaard is one of the most intriguing thinkers of the 19th century, who from the very beginning provoked extreme reactions. On one hand, he gained many supporters, but on the other, he encountered fierce critics who even accused him of being mentally unstable.
Kierkegaard was criticized for his work being unclear and full of contradictions. Moreover, many argued that his advocacy of the supremacy of religion over ethics serves as a justification for religious fundamentalism. Critics claimed that nothing can justify the desire to kill, not even the will of God, referencing the story of Abraham.
As a precursor of existentialism, he was criticized for promoting the subjectivity of existence and human self-creation while simultaneously believing in God as an external factor shaping human nature. Many critics also accused the Danish thinker of focusing too much on the negative aspects of human experience, such as anxiety and despair.
Kierkegaard's philosophy represents a leap into realms of existence that are difficult to grasp, and full of dark aspects. The tension between the individual search for meaning and the responsibility for one's own choices is a central theme in his works.
His concept of the individual as an existential being, the significance of choice in self-creation, the uncertainty of existence, and the accompanying constant anxiety laid the foundation for 20th-century existentialism, influencing philosophers such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Karl Jaspers, and Albert Camus.
Additionally, the emphasis on subjectivity in the process of knowledge influenced some epistemological theories (Paul Feyerabend references Kierkegaard while formulating his concept of subjectivity as truth) and contributed to the development of postmodern philosophy (Jacques Derrida, Richard Rorty).
The issues raised by Kierkegaard concerning the individual—such as delving into their spiritual struggles, inner conflicts, despair, and anxiety—along with his passionate, multifaceted narrative style and his concept of integrating literature with philosophy, have had a profound impact on contemporary literature, influencing authors like Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges.
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