Soren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard is known as the ‘father of existentialism’ and has significantly influenced 20th-century philosophy. A Danish philosopher from the 19th century found his inspiration and connection directly from the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. One of the most prominent philosophies that he believed in was that truths are supposed to be relatable in real life by individuals and spread the message of ‘subjective truth’. It emphasised both the subjectivity and the individuals’ relatability to those truths, being true to their subjective manner. In his book ‘Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments’, he highlights that the main aim of philosophy is not just about finding objective truth but also how people relate to it individually. He suggested that it is this subjectivity that determines their perspectives in life. For example, the unvarnished truth about morals in life can only be determined if someone follows those morals and relates in every aspect of their life rather than just knowing them. 

Soren Kierkegaard’s Existentialism

Existentialism is a form of philosophical inquiry. Existentialists try to answer and focus on various aspects of life that deal with the feelings, actions, and thinking centred on anxiety, despair, and lack of hope in life. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore topics related to human existence’s meaning, value, and purpose. Søren Kierkegaard, known as the father of existentialism, worked on various issues like: 

• Alienation 
• Abstraction 
• Death 
• Despair 
• Ethics 
• Individuality 
• Subjectivity 

Alienation

Alienation is anything that hints towards the lack of touch and connection from society; it is about a feeling of separation and moral breakdown that one experiences; it is the seclusion from society. At the same time, Kierkegaard defines the concept of alienation as something which in today’s generation exists because of the lack of action and mere belief in the objective truth. He believes that alienation occurs because of the scarcity and removal of value from life in today’s world. 

Abstraction

Abstraction is denoted for anything that substitutes the real meaning of life for anything artificial and materialistic. This substitution causes a lack of motivation and objective and prominent truth from life. Kierkegaard believes that money acts as a source of abstraction as it deviates and distracts people from the genuine meaning and substitutes some fundamental forms of values in life. 

Death

Death is the most objective truth in one’s life, which everyone knows and everyone basically knows that it is something inevitable, but somehow they fail to accept that and live in death denial. Kierkegaard believes that if people start accepting death, they would live more passionately even if they die someday. 

Despair 

Kierkegaard believes that despair in a human occurs when they lose touch with themselves and start making a false self-image of themselves. When two aspects are not in balance, that is why despair emotion occurs. It occurs because of the wrong conception that an individual might have about themselves. 

Individuality

Individuality is regarded as the actual knowledge that one has about oneself. This knowledge is determined by the true reflection of priorities and choosing the right things and options in life. Kierkegaard believes that individuality lies between the concepts of either/ or. 

Subjectivity

Subjectivity refers to the individual perception that one has, and it determines their personality and choices in life. It is this subjectivity that makes an individual different from others. Kierkegaard believes that the subjectivity of the truth and its perception and implication in one’s life is essential. 

Søren Kierkegaard’s Influence

Søren Kierkegaard was very reputed for his philosophy and the contributions of his work; many philosophers were influenced by his work and renowned him, especially for his works on existentialism. Which later gave him the tag of ‘father of existentialism. His popularity in Denmark increased after some famous works like fear and trembling philosophical fragments and concluding unscientific postscript to philosophical fragments. However, his audience gained German, English, and French after translation. His creations also influenced 20th-century literature by Walker Percy, W.H. Auden, Franz Kafka, David Lodge, and John Updike. He was respected in psychology because of his take on subjectivity and objectivity. Kierkegaard’s works were very precise and lauded by the future philosophers and future literature. While Søren Kierkegaard later also influenced people by his take on the dialectic method by Hegel and was one of the critiques for it and believed that by no means can dialectical method help one reach the truth. His works in psychology and theology also contributed a lot towards him getting famous and spreading his philosophy or learnings. 

Conclusion

Søren Kierkegaard, one of the pioneers in the field of philosophy, believed that one needs to get above their usual boredom, despair, and anxiety to live passionately. For the same, he laid down various reasons contributing to this anxiety, like the materialistic influence on people and lack of self-knowledge and distraction or deviation. As the father of existentialism and through his profound and prominent works, Søren Kierkegaard got worldwide recognition in philosophy, psychology, literature, and theology. His works and books are still regarded as an asset to philosophy.