Kirkegaard biography

"Monumental. . . . Garff's informal voice enlists us in the village of gossip of Kierkegaard's time. . . . [H]is tone helps create a sense of excitement, of caring, of importance, of—locally and cosmically—scandal."—John Updike, The New Yorker

"For any reader of Kierkegaard, this book will have a theatrical effect. It is as though one has been listening to a long soliloquy: suddenly the curtain goes up and there is golden-age Denmark. The 'soliloquy' is now embedded in a vibrant and multi-faceted conversation. The book is written with confidence and verve; it has been beautifully translated into English by Bruce H. Kirmmse. If you are capable of being absorbed by the life of one who did little but think and suffer privately, this is an 816-page page-turner."—Jonathan Lear, Times Literary Supplement

"A superb portrait of the philosopher that offers drama, psychological insight and social history as well as a guide to h

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Søren Kierkegaard

Danish theologian, philosopher, poet and social critic (1813–1855)

"Kierkegaard" redirects here. For the surname, see Kierkegaard (surname).

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (SORR-ən KEER-kə-gard, -⁠gor; Danish:[ˈsɶːɐnˈɔˀˌpyˀˈkʰiɐ̯kəˌkɒˀ]^ⓘ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855^[2]) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first Christian existentialist philosopher.^[3][4] He wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christianity, 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.

Kierkegaard's theological work focuses on Christian ethics, the institution of the

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Søren Kierkegaard

1. Life and Works

Søren Kierkegaard was born to Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard and Anne (Lund) Kierkegaard in Copenhagen on 5 May 1813, the youngest of sju children. He spent most of his life in and around the Danish capital, traveling abroad on only a handful of occasions (mostly to Berlin, including to hear Schelling’s lectures). Kierkegaard’s father, who had been born to a poor family in Jutland, had become wealthy as a merchant in Copenhagen. Michael was devoutly religious, and young Søren was brought up as a Lutheran but was also shaped by a Moravian congregation in which his father played a prominent role. Kierkegaard was in vända deeply influenced by his father, about whose “melancholy” much has been written. One alleged cause of this, much speculated upon, concerns the story that Kierkegaard’s father believed he and his family to have been living beneath a curse because of his having cursed God as a cold an