Post #5 - Kierkegaard

Soren Kierkegaard was a 19^th century Danish philosopher and theologian. Most of his work deals with religion, such as Christian ethics and theology. Kierkegaard is considered to be the father of existentialism, which is a philosophical concept stating that and individual should be in control of determining the meaning and essence of their lives. Existentialists believe that this is an individual’s right and should not be influenced by deities, authorities, or philosophical and theological doctrines. Kierkegaard was a theistic existentialist who believed in the existence of God as the source of our being. He also believed that God designed the world so that each individual is responsible for his or her actions and self-definition.

Existence is a major concept in this philosophical idea. It tends to focus on the concrete life of each individual and their concrete ways of being in this world. A central theme is the unfairness (absurdity) of this world and how it can suddenly convert a meaningful life into a meaningless life. This concept keeps us aware of the fact that we are humans. Existentialist philosophers derived many metaphysical theories from this including the self, consciousness, and the nature of meaning.

All existentialists believe that existence precedes essence. This means that our existence is not determined by God, religion, authority, or human nature. A person is a rational being and his/her existence is defined by the actions and decisions they make throughout their lives. Existentialists also explain dread (or angst or anxiety) as the experience of our freedom and responsibility. It is the person’s inherent insecurity about the consequences of their actions and that they are fully responsible for these consequences. Kierkegaard pointed out that when a child feels this dread while facing the possibility of being caught, actually helps them with their individuation. This situation will help the child grow and discover their individual self.

Bad faith is another main concept in Existentialism. Bad faith is the denial of free will by lying to yourself about your self and freedom. An example of this is when a person denies responsibility for an action because it is just something that they do. Existentialists would explain flipping a coin to make a decision, a refusal to live the consequences of one’s freedom to choose, which is also an example of bad faith. These philosophers believe that one is not only responsible for their own actions but also for the values that they hold, since they can change them at any time.

Existentialists do not believe that reason is the source of meaning. Kierkegaard saw rationality as a ploy people used to counter their existential anxiety, which is their fear of being in this world. The idea that the world is absurd helps explain that there is no meaning to be found in the world besides the meaning we give it. This absurdity shows that anything can happen at any time, to anybody.

Kierkegaard’s second book focused on the hypocrisy of Christendom. He did not deny his faith but he ridiculed the church and the applied religion of his society. Kierkegaard does not like how communities conformed and assimilated into an indifferent public. He supported communities which encouraged individuals to keep their diversity and uniqueness. With his writings, Kierkegaard was trying to inform the public about the shallowness of their so-called ‘Christian living.’ In his last couple years, Kierkegaard focused his attack on the Danish Church through newspaper articles and self-published pamphlets. He felt that the established state church was detrimental to the individuals and their self-reflection. Kierkegaard believed that the state-church union was unacceptable and skewed the true meaning of Christianity. He did not like how the Church was controlled by the State, and therefore wanted to increase its members in order to have more lives to control. Kierkegaard did not give up his faith in God; he just didn’t like the ‘herd mentality’ of the organized religion.