Enlightenment & 1800s · 1813–1855
Kierkegaard
Their big question
“How should I, one single person, live?”
Søren Kierkegaard rebelled against grand systems like Hegel's that explained all of history but forgot the actual living individual. What matters, he insisted, is YOU — your own honest, passionate choices about how to live. Truth isn't just something you know with your head; it's something you commit to with your whole life.
“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”
The big idea
Kierkegaard focused on the single individual and the leaps of choice that define a life. He described three ‘stages on life's way’ — the pleasure-seeking aesthetic, the dutiful ethical, and the committed religious — and argued that real faith requires a passionate ‘leap’ beyond what reason can prove. He's often called the father of existentialism.
Why it matters
He shifted philosophy's focus from abstract systems to personal existence — anxiety, choice, and authenticity — themes that shaped Sartre, modern psychology, and existentialist thought.
The big argument
His ‘leap of faith’ troubles many: is choosing to believe something beyond reason brave and authentic, or simply irrational? He also fiercely attacked the comfortable official Church.
In their own words
- “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” — Søren Kierkegaard
- “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” — Søren Kierkegaard
🤯 Fun fact
Kierkegaard wrote many of his books under wild fake names — almost staging a debate between different characters.
Learn more
Portrait: Sketch of Søren Kierkegaard. Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons.
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