Transcript Kierkegaard By Gian Gonzalez

Early Life
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark
on May 5, 1813
 His father was devoutly religious and
melancholic.
 Regine Olsen

 Broke the engagement with his fiancée in fear of
different philosophic interests.

Kierkegaard was a freelance writer who
wrote against Hegelian philosophy and the
state church in Denmark.

Kierkegaard was infuriated by Hegel’s
philosophy
 Like Pantheism/Idealism
 But really, to see everything as one big ego
of the one and only world reason
 ‘Objective Truths’

Kierkegaard said that these truths are
totally irrelevant to the personal life of
the individual.
It is more important to find the kind of
truths that are meaningful to the
individual’s life or “The Truth for Me.”
 The broad description of human
nature/beings is unimportant.
 It is only man’s “own existence” that is
important


He created his own philosophy of
individualism called Existentialism
 There is a deep significance of each person.
 To draw your entire existence into a
philosophical reflection as unique
individuals.
He believed that he was living in an age
utterly devoid of passion and
commitment.
 He was incensed by the vapidness of
the established Danish Lutheran Church
 To Kierkegaard, Christianity was
overwhelming and irrational and was an
either/or.

Either Jesus rose
on Easter Day…
Fully following
Jesusway
aEither
Christian
really died for our
of life
sake…
Either you believe
that Christianity is
true…
or not…
Being ‘rather’ or
‘to some extent’
religious
or not…
or not…
Unlike the “objective truths” or
“reasoned truth” of Hegelianism that
were irrelevant to the personal life of the
individual,
 Truth is “Subjective” and that the really
important truths are personal.
 “The task is precisely to be objective
toward oneself and subjective toward all
others.” - Kierkegaard


Ex: Is Christianity true?
 For a person who “understands himself in life,”
this is a question of life and death.
 Not discussed but approached with the
greatest passion and sincerity.

Ex: If you fall into the ocean…
 You do not have a Mr. Hild discussion whether
or not you will drown.
 Neither do you ponder whether there are
sharks, Communists, or Nutter Butters in the
water…
 It is a question of life or death.
Questions whether Christianity is true or
God exists can only be approached
through faith.
 Anything we can know through reason
or knowledge are unimportant.
 To prove God’s existence, you can
content yourself with proofs but suffer
loss of faith and religious passion.

Buddha and Kierkegaard said that
Man’s ‘own existence’ is its starting point
and was the only important thing.
 Existence is the process of realizing the
aspiration of who we are.

The
“Aesthetic”
The
“Ethical”
The
“Religious”
• Life based on pure sensory pleasures,
intellectual or physical.
• Live in the for the moment.
• The World of Senses.
• Life based in moral codes and the
infinite, the eternal.
• The highest stage of personal
commitment and subjectivity.
• One here understands that suffering is
inherent to the religious experience
Lives in the world of the
senses. Everything is either
fun or boring.
 An aesthetic can experience
angst, or a sense of dread
and a feeling of emptiness.

 This
angst is almost positive. One is in
an “existential situation” and can now
leap to a higher stage.

But either happens or doesn’t
“Either/Or” It is your own choice.
Yes
No
Nutter Butters = Drinking or Doing Drugs
Characterized by seriousness and
consistency of moral choices.
 Like Kant’s Ethics of Duty
 It is not that your opinion
is right or wrong, what
matters is that you have
an opinion.

 The
highest stage of personal
commitment and subjectivity.
To Kierkegaard, this stage was Christianity,
“The only path to redemption.”
 To choose faith rather than pleasure of
reason.
