Kierkegaard: Philosophy in an Hour

Philosophers in 90 Minutes #14

by Paul Strathern

Philosophy for busy people. Read a succinct account of the philosophy of Kierkegaard in just one hour.

Although Kierkegaard was not a philosopher in the academic sense, he produced what many people expect of philosophy. He didn’t write about the world, he wrote about life – how we live and how we choose to live, particularly focussing on the individual and the notion of his (or her) existence. Kierkegaard was one of the founders of existentialism, regarding the ‘existing being’ as a purely subjective entity that lay beyond the reach of reason, logic, philosophical systems, theology and even ‘the pretences of psychology’, yet simultaneously remaining the source of all these subjects.

Here is a concise, expert account of Kierkegaard’s life and philosophical ideas – entertainingly written and easy to understand. Also included are selections from Kierkegaard’s work, suggested further reading, and chronologies that place Kierkegaard in the context of the broader scheme of philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Biography, Audiobook, History, Christianity, Religion

94 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Paul Strathern (born 1940) is a English writer and academic. He was born in London, and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, after which he served in the Merchant Navy over a period of two years. He then lived on a Greek island. In 1966 he travelled overland to India and the Himalayas. His novel A Season in Abyssinia won a Somerset Maugham Award in 1972.

Besides five novels, he has also written numerous books on science, philosophy, history, literature, medicine and economics.

Reviews

[فؤاد · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب
همچنان بهترین کتابی که برای شروع کیرکگور معرفی میکنم، فلسفه کیرگگور هستش. این کتاب هم خیلی خوب بود، اما نه ترجمه ی روانی داشت و نه توضیحاتش کافی و وافی بود. نکته ی مهمی که قبلاً نمیدونستم، این بود که لغت "اگزیستانسیالیسم" اولین بار توسط کیرکگور ایجاد شده. میدونستم که پدر فلسفه ی اگزیستانسیال هستش، اما تصور میکردم کلمه ی "اگزیستانسیال" اولین بار توسط کارل یاسپرس استفاده شده.
قبلاً بخشی از نظریات کیرکگور رو در این ریویو توضیح دادم. حالا بخش دیگه ای رو می نویسم.

عوالم سه گانه ی وجود
کیرکگور سه حالت یا سه عالم انسانی مختلف معرفی می کند:

١. زیبایی جویی
جایی که محور زندگی فرد درون خودش است. در این جا فرد در حالات درونی و شخصی اش زندگی می کند و تمام زندگی اش به دنبال یافتن این حالات است. هر چند برای تحریک و ایجاد این حالات درونی نیاز به محرک های بیرونی دارد.
پس در عین این که محور اصلی امری درونی است، اما تمرکز بر امری درونی نیست.

٢. اخلاقی
جایی که محور زندگی فرد در امر کلی و عقلانی است. دیگر فرد "من" و احوال "من" را دنبال نمی کند، بلکه در جستجوی چیزی است که در "واقع" صحیح و نیکو است. در این جا فرد نیازی به محرک خارجی برای رسیدن به هدفش ندارد، چون چیزی که دنبالش می کند، ارزش های کلی و تغییرناپذیر است، نه حالات زودگذر نفسانی.
پس در عین این که محور اصلی امری بیرونی است، اما تمرکز بر امری بیرونی نیست.

٣. ایمانی
جایی که محور زندگی فرد، نه امری شخصی و نه امری کلی است، بلکه تمام همّش مصروف به رسیدن به چیزی می شود که رسیدن به آن ناممکن است.
تصویر کیرکگور از مفهوم "ایمان" را در این ریویو توضیح داده ام.


کیرکگور هیچ کدام از این سه جهان بر دیگری رجحان نمی دهد، هر چند خود در جهان زیبایی جویی جای دارد و مشتاق و ستایشگر جهان ایمانی است. اما نه این جهان را به دیگران توصیه می کند و نه آن را. چرا که معتقد است هیچ استدلال عقلانی و ارزش خارجی نمی تواند به من دیکته کند که کدام روش را برای زندگی انتخاب کنم، این من هستم که باید تصمیم بگیرم و هیچ ملاک خارجی و عقلانی برای تصمیم گیری ندارم. هر چه هست در درون من است.

"من حقیقتی که در می یابم را بیان می کنم، اما با اجتناب از مرجعیت و اقتدار. به دیگران اجازه می دهم که به من اعتماد نکنند. آن ها را در موقعیتی متناقض قرار می دهم تا تنها راه نجاتشان این باشد که حقیقت خودشان را بسازند."

از طرف دیگر، نمی توان کج دار و مریز زندگی کرد و در مرز سه جهان قرار گرفت و گاهی در این بود و گاهی در آن. بین این جهان ها دره ای عمیق قرار دارد و تنها با دست شستن از جهان قبلی و پریدن از روی دره، می توان به جهان دیگر راه یافت.
کسانی که فکر می کنند دارند مراعات هر دو طرف را می کنند، در درونشان متعلق به یک دنیا هستند و فقط ادای رعایت قوانین دنیای دیگر را در می آورند.

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

سورن کی یرکگور فیلسوف دانمارکی بوده که به عنوان پدر اگزیستانسیالیسم شناخته می شود. فلسفه او بر مفاهیمی مانند ایمان، آزادی، اضطراب و معنای زندگی تمرکز دارد .
کی یرکگور در زمانی که فلسفه عمدتاً بر جامعه و نهادهای اجتماعی تمرکز داشت، بر فرد تأکید کرد. او معتقد بود که هر فرد یک فرد منحصر به فرد است که مسئول انتخاب سرنوشت خود است. این تأکید بر فردیت، پایه و اساس اگزیستانسیالیسم و همچنین جنبش های فکری دیگر را تشکیل می دهد . او پرسش های عمیقی را در مورد ماهیت وجود انسان مطرح کرد. او استدلال کرد که انسان ها ابتدا وجود دارند و سپس ماهیت خود را از طریق انتخاب ها و اعمال خود تعریف می کنند. این ایده که انسان ها نویسندگان زندگی خود هستند، مفهوم مسئولیت فردی را برجسته می کند و چالشی برای دیدگاه های جبرگرایانه از زندگی ارائه می دهد . بنابراین از نگاه او انسان ها از آزادی مطلق برخوردارند، اما این آزادی با مسئولیت همراه است. این آزادی، منبع اضطراب نیز هست، زیرا ما دائماً با انتخاب هایی روبرو هستیم که زندگی ما را شکل می دهد.
ایمان نقش مهمی در فلسفه کی یرکگور ایفا می کند. او ایمان را برای زندگی معنادار ضروری می دانست. این دیدگاه ایمان، در تضاد با دیدگاه های سنتی تر ایمان است که بر شواهد و استدلال عقلانی تأکید دارند . کی یرکگور در جستجوی معنای زندگی بود. او معتقد بود که معنای زندگی از طریق انتخاب های فردی و تعهد به ایمان یافت می شود. این تأکید بر انتخاب های فردی، مسئولیت هر فرد را برای ایجاد زندگی معنادار برای خود برجسته می کند .
بنابراین فلسفه کی یرکگور را می توان در تأکید بر فرد ، کاوش در ماهیت وجود ، مفهوم آزادی ، ایمان و جستجوی معنای زندگی خلاصه کرد . فلسفه کی یرکگور تأثیر عمیقی بر تفکر غربی، به ویژه بر ظهور اگزیستانسیالیسم در قرن بیستم داشته. فیلسوفانی مانند ژان پل سارتر، آلبر کامو همگی از اندیشه های کی یرکگور الهام گرفته اند.
استراترن در کتاب کوتاه خود کوشیده ، نکات کلیدی فلسفه کی یرکگور را شرح دهد ، برای نمونه دیدگاه او نسبت به زندگی یا همان استتیک یا اخلاقی زیستن . آشکار است که انتخاب کگور زیستن اخلاقی ایست . این گونه است که فرد خویشتن را با انتخاب می آفریند . همچنین نویسنده به حقیقت و انواع آن از دیدگاه فیلسوف دانمارکی هم پرداخته . حقیقت ابژکتیو یا آنچه گفته شده و حقیقت علمی یا چگونه گفته شده .
این گونه کگور به این دیدگاه رسید که هر فردی دنیا را چنان می بیند که اراده کرده ، ارزش هایی که پیشتر برگزیده ، با آن ها زندگی کرده و خود توسط آن ها ساخته شده است . بدین گونه کگور استدلال می کرد که ارزش هایی که هرکس را می سازند جهان را هم می سازند .
با در نظر گرفتن هدف کتاب‌های استراترن که آشنایی و ایجاد علاقه در خواننده نسبت به فیلسوف مورد بحث است، می‌توان آشنایی با کی یرنگور را تا اندازه ای موفق دانست. استراترن علاوه بر معرفی کی یرکگور، به شرح نکات کلیدی فلسفه او نیز پرداخته و با زبانی روشن ، خواننده را با دنیای اندیشه‌های این فیلسوف برجسته آشنا می کند .

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

”For Kierkegaard, existence was all that was left after everything else had been analyzed away — it was simply there.”


Kierkegaard was a truly strange cat. A devout Christian, he actively attacked his national Church. He was a life-long celibate, whose solitary sexual experience was a visit to a brothel as a young man that ended so catastrophically that it continued to traumatize him for the rest of his life. He broke an engagement with a respectable young woman and continued to pine for her to the end of his days. Unable to gain fame through his work, he actively sought notoriety and its accompanying opprobrium. He seemed an old man already at thirty. And he essentially invented the philosophy (or non-philosophy, if you will) that we now call Existentialism.


”Existentialism is the only Western attempt at an irrational philosophy. No one questions its success as such, only whether such a thing is possible in the first place. Unlike reasonable philosophies past or present, Existentialism is purely subjective.”

”Kierkegaard was certainly ahead of his time, yet he also brought about a long overdue reexamination of one of the first philosophical questions ever to be asked — What is existence? This question had of course continued to be asked ever since by almost everyone except philosophers. To them the question was either laughable, invalid, or answered so completely by their own philosophy there was no need whatsoever to go on asking it. Kierkegaard, on the other hand, insisted that every individual should not only ask this question, but should make his very life his own subjective answer to it. This stress on subjectivity is Kierkegaard’s main contribution.”

”The subjective ‘I’ lies beyond reason, and is not entirely a part of the world. Kierkegaard understood this.”

[Hamêd · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتابی نسبتا خوب برای آشنایی با سورن کیرکگور. در این کتاب شرحی از وضعیت خانوادگی کیرکگور و کودکی اش داده می شود و خواننده را تا حدی با جهان او آشنا می کند. به برخی از اتفاقات مهم در زندگی کیرکگور نیز اشاره می شود. سیر اندیشه ی او در آثار مهم اش همچون این یا آن، ترس و لرز، مفهوم دلهره و بیماری تا پای مرگ بررسی می شود.

کیرکگور متفکری ست که انسان و فردیت یافتنش دغدغه ی اصلی اوست. او به ماهیت جهان طبیعی علاقه ای ندارد. برای وی مهم آن است که به انسان کمک کند چگونه زندگی کند و چگونه حقیقت خود را بیابد و مشتاقانه به آن متعهد شود. وجود داشتن خطر کردن است و در دلهره زیستن زیرا زمین محکمی زیر پایمان نیست.

از متن کتاب:

به گفته ی ويتگنشتاين فرد خوشبخت و فرد بدبخت در دو جهان متفاوت زندگی می کنند. این سخن به ظاهر پیش پاافتاده وقتی بدانیم او درباره ی اِعمال اراده صحبت می کند، عمق بیشتری پیدا می کند. همچنانکه کیرکگور گفت هر فردی دنیا را چنان می بیند که اراده کرده است. و این بستگی به ارزش هایی دارد که فرد پیشتر برگزیده است. بدین گونه کیرکگور استدلال می کرد که ارزش هایی که هر کس را می سازد جهان را هم می سازد.


در آخر کتاب نوشته هایی از کیرکگور آمده است که یکی از آن ها را که بسیار به دلم نشست اینجا آورده ام.

سورن کیرکگور / یادداشت ها:

تمامی آن انسان های استثنایی که در طول قرن های گذشته پراکنده بوده اند هر یک در باب «بشریت» قضاوت هایی ارائه داده اند. یکی گفت انسان نوعی حیوان است، دیگری گفت که انسان موجودی ریاکار است و آن دیگری که انسان موجودی دروغگوست و از این قبیل.

نظر من شاید زیاد پرت نباشد: من می گویم انسان ورّاج است و موهبت نطق او را بدین کار تشویق می کند.

به کمک قوه سخن هر کس در مراتب عالی سهیم می شود __ اما فقط به کمک سخن. و در این کار یاوه می بافد، که همانقدر مسخره است که کسی پس از تماشای تابلوهای ضیافتی سلطنتی در نمایشگاه مدعی شرکت در آن ضیافت بشود.

اگر مشرک بودم می گفتم خدایان این هنر سخنگویی را به آدم دادند تا خود را با تماشای چنین خودفریبی مسخره ای سرگرم کنند.

اما از دیدگاه مسیحی باید بگویم که خداوند این نعمت را از سر محبت به انسان ارزانی دا��ت تا او را به درک درست امر متعالی رهنمون شود. اما نمی دانم خداوند بایستی با چه تأسفی به حاصل این لطفش نگریسته باشد!

[John Martindale · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I did like about this book was that Strathern showed how the well known, bizarre and tragic life of Kierkegaard greatly shaped his philosophy, of course, one truly can't confidently say A caused B, one can only speculate, but it was interesting nonetheless.

One thing I don't appreciate is Strathern's utter contempt for theism, it is something that shines forth in all Strathern's writings that I've read so far. He assumes no rational person could believe in a God and that all such beliefs are completely laughable. He also assumes his readership is atheist and since so many philosophers he writes about were theist, he needs to let his audience know that no one today could actually belief such nonesense, especially himself, and though these idiots of the past, bless their hearts, believed such dubious things, there are a few things we can learn from them nonetheless.

[Don Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have generally found the Philosophers in 90 Minutes series very informative, but this is the first volume in the series that failed for me. Reading it did not aid my understanding of Kierkegaard's philosophy, and I found my other source on Kierkegaard and theistic existentialism (The Universe Next Door, by James Sire) more illuminating.

The only thing I really learned from the book is that like many thinkers, Kierkegaard was tormented by psychological problems (stemming from a difficult relationship with his father, who was also troubled), and Kierkegaard's philosophy is heavily dependent on these psychological problems. Indeed, it appears to be an attempt, conscious or not, to work them out.

...
3/22/17
I strongly suspect that one of the reasons I did not find this book very helpful is because author Paul Strathern does not have a particularly great understanding of Kierkegaard's philosophy or, more generally, theistic existentialism. Just because Strathern is a highly educated mathematics and philosophy professor doesn't necessarily mean he understands every philosophy equally well. Again, I believe James Sire "gets" theistic existentialism (not just Kierkegaard) much better or more thoroughly, with his even shorter evaluation of it. Reviewer John Martindale believes Strathern demonstrates a contempt for theism. I didn't notice that, but if true, it likely explains why I found that Strathern didn't display a deep understanding of Kierkegaard--he's too unable to relate intellectually.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful little bio to introduce myself to Kierkegaard's ideas. You really have to wonder how philosophy would have evolved if all these men had gone to therapy.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it was only 90 minutes… but it still feels super-cursory and not super-informative 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better books in this series. These books make great reviews if you don't have the time to reread the entire works of a philosopher.

Kierkegaard's father was a serf for a local priest and had to tend sheep. One day he cursed god and his luck turned for the better thanks to an uncle in Copenhagen. Soren's mom was a maid that the dad played around with. He had a total of seven children, and the father expected all of them to die before he did because of his sins falling on the children. Only two of them lived longer than the dad, one of them being Soren.

Soren was raised to be a religious fanatic. His dad took him on "trips" that never left the living room. He was supposed to imagine things like the beach or the Eiffel Tower. Once he was told to get the third highest grade on the Latin exam. His teachers described Soren as "a little old man."

The author hints that Soren may have had only one sexual encounter in his whole life, in a bordello, and it was a failure where he was laughed at. The details can only be guessed at.

When his father died, Soren became a wealthy man. He courted the teenage girl Regine Olsen for two years. Later he would break off his engagement for the higher calling of philosophy and god.

He would write many books under many pseudonyms. His solution to the despair of life was to take full responsibility for our lives. Existence is like a frog you discover at the bottom of your beer mug.

Perhaps his greatest line: "Life must be lived forwards, but it is understood backwards."

We have the freedom to leap off of a cliff if we so choose. That is the dizziness of freedom: that we could do that if we wanted to.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I have been going through this series 1 of the things that stood out to me is that many noted philosophers lived very "unsettled lives":
-Lack of suitable employment
-Financial difficulties
-Not accepted in society
-Mental illness and personal anguish
-No happy marriage and general loneliness and isolation

Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Sartre and many others seem to generally fit this pattern.

But a few seem to buck this trend, like Aristotle, Hegel and Heidegger
-They had respectable positions in society
-Had stable marriages and children
-Appear to have been mentally stable

Well Søren Kierkegaard is a prototype of the first group.

What an exquisitely tortured individual!

But still, while you don't have to be miserable to be a great philosopher, it certainly seems to help!

[Arash Kamangir · Rating 5 out of 5]

لذت بردم.

[Cav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kierkegaard in 90 Minutes was a decent, short look into the life of the Danish philosopher. Clocking in at just under 90 minutes, the short length of this one worked well for me, as I tend to get frustrated with lengthy and verbose philosophical musings.

Author Paul Strathern is a Scots-Irish writer and academic. He was born in London, and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, after which he served in the Merchant Navy over a period of two years. He then lived on a Greek island. In 1966 he travelled overland to India and the Himalayas.

Paul Strathern:


Strathern mentions that Kierkegaard was the founder of existentialism, a "form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on the lived experience of the thinking, feeling, acting individual". Kierkegaard was the son of a wealthy merchant. For most of his life, Kierkegaard was an introvert, and was bullied in school.

This short book outlines Kierkegaard's life, as well as his contributions to philosophy. I am including a short summary of his life, taken from his Wikipedia page, mainly for my own future reference:

"Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher.[9][10] He wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christendom, morality, ethics, psychology, and the philosophy of religion, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony, and parables. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a "single individual", giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment.[11] He was against literary critics who defined idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, and thought that Swedenborg,[12] Hegel,[13] Fichte, Schelling, Schlegel, and Hans Christian Andersen were all "understood" far too quickly by "scholars".[14]

Kierkegaard's theological work focuses on Christian ethics, the institution of the Church, the differences between purely objective proofs of Christianity, the infinite qualitative distinction between man and God, and the individual's subjective relationship to the God-Man Jesus the Christ,[15] which came through faith.[16][17] Much of his work deals with Christian love. He was extremely critical of the practice of Christianity as a state religion, primarily that of the Church of Denmark. His psychological work explored the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced with life choices.[2]

Kierkegaard's early work was written under the various pseudonyms to present distinctive viewpoints that interact in complex dialogue.[18] He explored particularly complex problems from different viewpoints, each under a different pseudonym. He wrote many Upbuilding Discourses under his own name and dedicated them to the "single individual" who might want to discover the meaning of his works. Notably, he wrote: "Science[19] and scholarship want to teach that becoming objective is the way. Christianity teaches that the way is to become subjective, to become a subject."[20] While scientists can learn about the world by observation, Kierkegaard emphatically denied that observation alone could reveal the inner workings of the world of the spirit.[21]

Some of Kierkegaard's key ideas include the concept of "subjective and objective truths", the knight of faith, the recollection and repetition dichotomy, angst, the infinite qualitative distinction, faith as a passion, and the three stages on life's way. Kierkegaard wrote in Danish and the reception of his work was initially limited to Scandinavia, but by the turn of the 20th century his writings were translated into French, German, and other major European languages. By the mid-20th century, his thought exerted a substantial influence on philosophy,[22] theology,[23] and Western culture."


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Admittedly, I am not too fond of the field of philosophical inquiry in general, for various reasons. The short length of this book was the deciding factor for whether I would read it, as I am still interested to expand my knowledge of this Danish philosopher. Thankfully, the book ticked that box.
It was just what I was after; a short, no-frills telling.
I would recommend it to anyone interested.
4 stars.

[Tate Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated most of the biographical elements. Unfortunately, Paul Strathern doesn't seem to respect Kierkegaard or his philosophy. He constantly makes fun of Kierkegaard, especially his less popular writings, his faith and how he chose to live it out.

Yes, Kierkegaard was a tortured soul, but his refusal to be satisfied with contradiction or anything less than truth is admirable. His inability to live up to (or really the fact that he has no regard for) the author's arbitrary standards is 100% in line with the real, historical Kierkegaard. This author joins in the long tradition of mocking Kierkegaard for the very things that made him brilliant, thus fulfilling Kierkegaard's own wishes to live and die as a free man.

[B.A. Malisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on how many times I've proclaimed that I'm having an existential crisis, it seemed only appropriate that I learn more about Kierkegaard. Even though the word existentialism wasn't claimed until Sartre about 100 years later, Kierkegaard was definitely an early existentialist.

He also lived a messy, difficult life and was quite a unique individual, as a result. That's the nice way of explaining his eccentricities and uncommon mind.

It sounds as if half of what he wrote was pure rage at the world, combined with mental illness, and the other half of what he wrote was quite fascinating. I may have to try out some of his works, one from each end of the spectrum, just out of curiosity.

Book 42 read in 2018

Pages: 96

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good little book to provide an introduction to Kierkegaard. It gives some insight into his life and background, and his thoughts as the "Father of existentialism." Good, short intro into his thought.

[Zach Busick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I’m cheating at goodreads by counting this, but I (irrationally) feel like if I don’t record it on GR, it didn’t happen…

[counter-hegemonicon · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Life can only be understood backwards but must be lived forwards” -SK

[Jason Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and clearly written overview of Kierkegaard's life and work. Sometimes known as the "Father of existentialism".

[Rebecca]

My favorite review of this said "I don't think I'd have understood Kierkegaard even if the book had lasted an extra thirty minutes."

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

It went by fast. i really fixated on the whole Regine thing again which is all i knew from before then. but worth it.
third book i finished today.

[LD · Rating 3 out of 5]

“La primera cosa que debes comprender es que no comprendes.”

[Tom Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't really learn anything from the book: I've ready plenty of Kierkegaard in the past. It was quite interesting, and did bring one potentially good idea forward - the concept of the religious sphere (I prefer 'sphere' to 'stage') being a balancing of the ethical and the aesthetic rather than just being a further progression than the ethical - and this seems very true. Most people don't live a purely aesthetic or a purely ethical life - they mix the two together. Religion helps one do that, but so does secular life philosophy like humanism - and, I'd suggest, just mere circumstance (going to school, working, being in relationships, family, health, society etc.).

The book is certainly right in stating that Kierkegaard's religious conclusions are pragmatically bonkers: universal celibacy is obviously unworkable.

[Susanna Polakov · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book left me thoroughly confused although I am not sure if this is the impression the Kierkegaard's philosophy, personality or the effect of the book format. It is possible that had I read more I could understand what Kierkegaard tried to say better and how it can be applied to the life's serious questions. It is still possible though that I wouldn't be able to sympathise to the Kierkegaard's works anyway. Kierkegaard's life has my deepest sympathies but it is not conducive to learning more about him, unfortunately, the effect produced was opposite.

[teacupsandunicorns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting summary and highlights of his life and work.
Honestly this guy sounded like a real whiny dude-bro with a heavy dose of narcissism to make everything about him. He also seemed to hate women. What a surprise. He wanted to get attention for how he suffered. What a guy. However he did have great ideas about the subjective experience of life and how everyone has a different truth and different point of view, and that we create our own truths as well as creating ourselves.
A good start to get your feet wet regarding his work and his philosophy.

[Sebastian Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Strathern logra resumir muy bien la vida y obra de Kierkeegard en este libro que sí es posible de leer en 90 minutos (o menos). Lo único que no ha logrado convencerme es cuando el autor se propone opinar sobre las ideas de Kierkegaard (ya sea en favor o en contra de ellas), aún así es rescatable que se de la instancia de realizar comparaciones con otros filosofos y personajes de su contexto histórico.

[biname]

وقتی از این کتاب های سطحی(هرچی غیر از کتاب های خود فیلسوف)میخونید،دائما به حرف های تکراری بر میخورید.متن اصلی بهتره.با اینحال "آشنایی"بهترین لفظه براش و اینکه چیزهایی که تو این کتاب ها نوشتن لزوما ایده مورد نظر خود فیلسوف نبوده یا همه چیزی که گفته اما زبان ساده و روونش کلا برای مبتدی ها و نوجوان ها خوبه.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been listening to these on my morning commute. I was interested in his work in an exploration into the roots of existentialism.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intro to Kierkegaard. Fine.

[Daniel Tewfik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great place to start before diving into anything written by Kierkegaard. This was a VERY quick read.

[Rick Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t help but wanting to call Kierkegaard a “fancy boy“ at the end of this. Not a bad introduction to his personal life, wouldn’t take any of it as gospel regarding his actual philosophy.