Søren Kierkegaard: The Father of Existentialism Who Changed Modern Philosophy

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, born on May 5, 1813, in Copenhagen, Denmark, is widely regarded as the father of existentialism and one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century. Despite living only 42 years, his profound writings on faith, anxiety, and individual existence continue to shape philosophical and theological thought today.

**Early Life and Education**

Kierkegaard was the youngest of seven children born to Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard, a wealthy wool merchant, and Ane Sørensdatter Lund. His childhood was marked by a deeply religious household shadowed by his father's melancholy and guilt over past sins. This somber upbringing profoundly influenced his later philosophical work.

He enrolled at the University of Copenhagen in 1830, initially studying theology at his father's request. However, he soon developed interests in philosophy and literature, taking over a decade to complete his degree. His 1841 dissertation, 'On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates,' marked the beginning of his philosophical career.

**The Regine Olsen Affair**

A pivotal moment in Kierkegaard's life was his engagement to Regine Olsen in 1840, which he broke off the following year. This painful decision, which he never fully explained, haunted him throughout his life and became a recurring theme in his writings about love, commitment, and sacrifice.

**Core Philosophical Beliefs**

Kierkegaard's philosophy centered on several groundbreaking concepts:

*Subjective Truth and Individual Existence*

He argued that truth is not merely objective but deeply personal. His famous assertion that 'truth is subjectivity' emphasized that the most important truths must be lived and experienced individually, not simply understood intellectually.

*The Three Stages of Existence*

Kierkegaard proposed that humans progress through three stages of life: the aesthetic (pursuing pleasure), the ethical (living by moral duty), and the religious (making a personal leap of faith toward God). He believed the religious stage represented the highest form of human existence.

*The Leap of Faith*

Perhaps his most famous concept, Kierkegaard argued that rational thought alone cannot lead to God. Instead, individuals must make a 'leap of faith' – embracing belief despite uncertainty and paradox.

*Anxiety and Despair*

He explored human anxiety as arising from our freedom to choose and our awareness of infinite possibilities. His work 'The Concept of Anxiety' (1844) and 'The Sickness Unto Death' (1849) examined how despair stems from failing to become one's authentic self.

**Major Works**

Kierkegaard was remarkably prolific, publishing numerous works including 'Either/Or' (1843), 'Fear and Trembling' (1843), 'Philosophical Fragments' (1844), and 'Concluding Unscientific Postscript' (1846). Many were written under pseudonyms, allowing him to explore different philosophical perspectives.

**Later Years and Legacy**

In his final years, Kierkegaard launched fierce attacks on the Danish State Church, which he viewed as a comfortable institution that had abandoned authentic Christianity. This campaign exhausted him physically and financially.

Søren Kierkegaard collapsed on a Copenhagen street in October 1855 and died on November 11 of that year, likely from a spinal disease. He was buried in Assistens Cemetery in Copenhagen.

Though largely overlooked during his lifetime, Kierkegaard's work was rediscovered in the 20th century, profoundly influencing existentialist philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Camus, as well as theologians such as Karl Barth and Paul Tillich. Today, he is celebrated as a pioneering thinker who placed individual human experience at the center of philosophical inquiry.