Questions tagged [kierkegaard]

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) was a Danish philosopher and theologian associated with existentialism.

The following are some sources providing more information about Kierkegaard:

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I'm interested in Kierkegaard, what should I read prior to his works?

I'm mostly interested in Fear and Trembling and on Either/Or. Can I read it straight away or is it recommended to read any other books first. If that's the case, which books then? I'm sorry for the noob question, but it is because Kierkegaard is…
Ezequiel Barbosa
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Is there any consensus on what the significance was in Kierkegaard's use of pseudonyms?

I took a class in Kierkegaard and it was represented that Kierkegaard's use of pseudonyms was highly significant. Either he meant what he said, or he was being ironic, or something else entirely. Is there an academic consensus forming around the…
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What do I need to read before understanding "Kierkegaard: Attack upon Christendom"?

So far I have read "Either/or", "Repetition", Plato's dialogues, "Nicomachean Ethics", "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius and I'm quite familiar with Christianity. Which other primary texts or some kind of secondary source do I need to be familiar…
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Need help to understand Kierkegaard's "An Ecstatic Discourse"

I'm new to philosophy and I've only read Plato and some essays by Schopenhauer so far, so please be patient with me. I'm reading the first part of "Either/Or" - Diapsalmata - and have found the first part of it very poetical and melancholic. Now I…
Ezequiel Barbosa
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Could someone articulate why Kierkegaard would have us to be Christian?

Walter Kaufmann writes, "Kierkegaard would have us to be Christian." in his book "Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sarte." I'm having a hard time understanding this concept. Unless my professor misrepresented Kierkegaard's position, we should be…
Joseph
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Would you recommend any secondary literature to help me understand "Either/or"?

I have read Plato's dialogues, Aristotle's "Nicomachean Ethics", "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius and also Peter Adamson's two books about Classical and Hellenistic philosophies. As you see I have a general knowledge about philosophy, but I really…
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What does Kierkegaard mean by "qualification of the psychical"?

In Sickness unto Death, Part One A. I am very confused about what Kierkegaard (K.) means by "qualification of the psychical". K. appears to argue that if a human being is just made up of a synthesis of three pairs of six factors (infinite and…
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What does Kierkegaard mean by "world-historical"?

In part II of C.U.P. Kierkegaard writes a lot about the "world-historical" and how objectivity and speculative reasoning are related to it. I guess I just need a good description of exactly what he means by "world-historical", as I am having a hard…
Cole
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