Contents
Søren Kierkegaard
Exploring personal choice, anxiety and the demands of religious faith.
Either/Or · Fear and Trembling
- Born
- 5 May 1813
- Birthplace
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Died
- 11 November 1855
More people
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher who resisted turning lived experience into an abstract system. His pseudonymous books examine different ways of living through deliberately contrasting voices.
Early life
Religious household
Grew up in a prosperous, devout Copenhagen family.
Theological studies
Studied at Copenhagen’s university and completed a dissertation on irony.
Career
- 1841
Independent authorship
Completed university work and began a concentrated writing career.
- 1840s
Pseudonymous books
Developed contrasting voices to explore ethics, faith and selfhood.
- 1854–1855
Church criticism
Publicly attacked the complacency of Denmark’s established Christianity.
Selected work
Either/Or
Contrasts aesthetic and ethical approaches to living.
Fear and Trembling
Examines faith through the biblical story of Abraham.
The Sickness unto Death
Investigates despair and the relation of the self to itself.
Beyond work
Broken engagement
Ended his engagement to Regine Olsen in 1841.
Copenhagen walks
Made the city’s streets and public life part of his daily routine.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: La Biblioteca Real de Dinamarca. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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