Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was the youngest of seven children born to Ane Sørensdatter Lund and Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard. Michael was a wealthy merchant, and Ane had been the family maid before Michael impregnated and then married her. Kierkegaard developed an early love of philosophy and took particular pleasure in reading Plato’s Socratic dialogues. Kierkegaard attended the University of Copenhagen, initially studying theology but later turning his attention to literature and philosophy. During this period, Kierkegaard struggled to find a truth or idea that he could live his life by, which led to his disillusionment with Christianity and a separation from his father. However, Kierkegaard reconciled himself to both and eventually graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1841. Kierkegaard devoted the next few years to writing and publishing different essays under different synonyms, some of which include Johannes de silentio, Anti-Climacus, Judge William, and Hilarius Bookbinder. Occasionally, Kierkegaard would publish one essay with one pseudonym and then write a contradicting essay under another pseudonym, thereby presenting two different opinions of the same topic. Kierkegaard became a somewhat controversial figure after challenging a popular satirical paper, The Corsair, to mock him (it did, and Kierkegaard never quite recovered from the public humiliation) and railing against the Danish national church (which was Lutheran) for being too lenient. In October 1855, Kierkegaard collapsed in the street and then died a few weeks later in November. There is some debate over whether he died of tuberculosis or a spinal disease. Although Kierkegaard was relatively well-known in Denmark during his lifetime, it wasn’t until the early- to mid-20th century that his works really began receiving international attention. Today, Kierkegaard is known as the “father of existentialism.”