Søren Kierkegaard

The existentialist philosopher Soren Kierkegaard was born on May 5, 1813, in Copenhagen. He was the seventh child of Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard, a wealthy textile merchant, and his second wife, Anne Lund. In 1830, he enrolled in the School of Theology. Delving into ancient Greek literature, he became fascinated by Socrates, whom he adopted as a role model. In 1837, he met Regine Olsen. A year later, he published his first book, a critique of a novel by Hans Christian Andersen. Successive family tragedies—his mother and five of his six siblings died from illnesses or accidents—prompted him to dedicate his life to exploring "what it truly means to be a Christian in today's Christendom." In 1841, he informed Regine that they could not continue because he was "accountable to a higher court." He submitted his doctoral thesis on Socratic irony to the School of Theology. In 1843, he wrote "Either/Or" under a pseudonym, marking the beginning of his philosophical work. This was followed by other works, each under different pseudonyms: "Diary of a Seducer" (1842), "Repetition" (1843), "Fear and Trembling" (1843), "Philosophical Fragments" (1844), "The Concept of Anxiety" (1844), "Prefaces" (1844), "Stages on Life's Way" (1845), "Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses 1843-1845," and "Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions" (1845). His second writing period, where the surname Kierkegaard replaced the pseudonyms, began with "Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits" (1847). He learned about the Danish theologian Adler, who was deposed by the Church, and wrote "The Book on Adler." In 1847, he published "Works of Love," "dedicated to that one whom I joyfully and gratefully call my reader." He completed the Christian Discourses, which were published in 1848, "the most productive year I have lived as a writer." He wrote "The Sickness Unto Death" (1849), which he considered his most important religious work, and "Practice in Christianity" (1850). In 1851, he published "On My Work as an Author," "Two Discourses at the Communion on Fridays," and "The Self-Examination Recommended for the Present Age." In the last three years of his life, Kierkegaard attacked the ecclesiastical establishment through intensely critical articles in the newspaper "The Fatherland" and the biweekly pamphlet "The Moment," which he wrote entirely. He died on November 11, 1855, at the age of forty-two.