Soren Kierkegaard
Danish philosopher
Søren
Kierkegaard was born in Copenhagen in 1813. His best known works
include Either/Or, Fear and Trembling, Repetition, and The Sickness Unto
Death.
Kierkegaard was well-versed in Latin, history, and philosophy, having
studied all three. His writings are informed by his studies, though he
shunned careers based on any of them. He frequently wrote under pen
names to avoid his work being viewed as a complete philosophical
structure.
Much of Kierkegaard’s life is explained in his journals, which were
published posthumously. These journals frequently shed light on the
content of his philosophical work. Kierkegaard’s philosophy regularly
criticised the work of Hegel, which Kierkegaard felt was too abstracted
from reality.
Kierkegaard was something of a public figure because of his
philosophical writing, and in 1846 he was attacked by The Corsair, a
satirical paper. He had criticised its journalistic quality after
another author had criticised Kierkegaard in an article. The result was
a series of articles in the paper criticising Kierkegaard for everything
from his philosophy to his appearance and voice.
Throughout his life, Kierkegaard was a prolific writer. He wrote about a
number of topics, and regularly published books up until his death. His
late works shifted in focus, though, and were dominated by criticisms of
the Church of Denmark.
After his death in 1855, he continued to be respected as a philosopher
and has been dubbed the father of existentialism. His books, articles,
and pamphlets, as well as his journals, have continued to be published.
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