Kierkegaard Essays

Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling What is a human person? How do human beings relate to God? Who am I? Why do I exist? I. Soeren Kierkegaard, a famous theologian of the 19th Century, wrote Fear and Trembling in 1843 in response to Hegelianism. Kierkegaard takes on the pseudonymous role of Jonannes de Silentio and speaks on modern peoples' attitudes toward doubt and faith. He believes humans are creatures entrenched in reason and doubt but not in the same sense as Descartes, a French mathematician

the two volumes, Kierkegaard removes his personal beliefs and allows the reader to make their own choice on the best way to live. Throughout this essay, I will explore how Kierkegaard begins Either/Or with a chapter entitled, “Diapsalamata,” which is a collection of aphorisms and anecdotes, all with the overlaying themes of cynicism and despair. Before beginning a discussion of “Diapsalmata,” a short beginning to an 800-page philosophical giant, a background to Soren Kierkegaard and his life work

some question, proposed about subjects that are necessarily personal in nature. All of philosophy is personal, but some philosophers may deny this. Discussed here are philosophers that would not be that silly. Two proto-existentialists, Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche, were keen observers of humanity, and yet their conclusions were different enough to seem contradictory. Discussed here will be Nietzsche’s “preparatory human being” and Kierkegaard’s “knight of faith”. Both are archetypal

“I think, therefore I am” is the basis for all of Descartes arguments. The “I” or the thinking thing is the only reality of the self. Everything else is classified as res extensa or extending things and is an illusion. According to Descartes, one must be careful when dealing with objects or material things. Senses may provide an illusion to reality and play the role of a distracter from what is true. In this case, it is thinking that establishes reality and the existence of the individual and the

Can absurd logic be used as a tool to scrutinize western philosophical texts without missing the point? Using absurd logic, I will demonstrate how two western philosophers differ in relation to the absurd. My case study will examine Socrates and David Hume. It will be demonstrated that Socrates’ actions in Plato’s Phaedo and Apology constitute philosophical suicide by finding sanctuary, giving hope, and appealing to a god. Alternatively, Hume’s actions/claims in the Dialogue Concerning Natural Religion

by the aspects of culture and what Hegel called the human Spirit in his book Phenomenology of Spirit. Kierkegaard claimed that these phenomena mentioned were ruining humanity as I’m sure it appeared to him. When observing our own modern times, we see these phenomena continuing in our present age as well and can even be projected towards the years to come. The difference between what Kierkegaard perceived and what I perceive living a century and a half later is that from where we stand today, these

Søren Kierkegaard states Fear and Trembling, Abraham is a Knight of Faith because embraces his absurd condition, i.e. God asking him to sacrifice the son that He just gave Abraham, and is rewarded with Isaac being spared, save the traumatic experience of his father trying to sacrifice him. Since Abraham is a Knight of Faith and transcends earthly query, one cannot judge his character or claim to understand him as by doing such would make them pitiful or arrogant in the eyes of Kierkegaard (Kierkegaard

The Moment and Inwardness I. Introduction In The Concept of Anxiety, S�ren Kierkegaard deals with human anxiety about the possibility posed by freedom as it relates to sinfulness and spiritual progress. This paper will show that Kierkegaard?s concept of the moment and his prescription for inwardness, both in the context of spirituality, are connected. Importantly, inwardness depends on the moment and the possibility of transition that does not take place in time, transition that seems sudden

He published many ardent attacks on the State Church and its pastors. As a philosopher, Kierkegaard emphasized individually experiencing reality over abstract thinking and not blindly accepting public sentiments. His religious writings often dealt with the hypocrisy he felt existed in the Denmark’s religious system. In 1854, Kierkegaard published a political journal titled The Fatherland, so he “might attain an approximation to preaching in the street.” Through

Faith in Kierkegaard's Breaking the Waves In Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, he discusses the "Three Movements to Faith." For Kierkegaard, faith of any kind involves a paradox. This paradox, as well as Kierkegaard's suggested path to faith, is illustrated by the main characters of Breaking the Waves, Bess and Jan. Kierkegaard explains there are steps one can take towards faith; however, they are so difficult he believes only one person, the "Knight of Faith," has completed the movements