Father of Existentialism BY GIAN GONZALEZ Early Life

Father of Existentialism BY GIAN GONZALEZ

Early Life Born in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 5, 1813 � His father was devoutly religious and melancholic. � Regine Olsen � �Broke the engagement with his fiancée in fear of different philosophic interests. � Kierkegaard was a freelance writer who wrote against Hegelian philosophy and the state church in Denmark.

Anti-Hegelian � Kierkegaard was infuriated by Hegel’s philosophy �Like Pantheism/Idealism �But really, to see everything as one big ego of the one and only world reason �‘Objective Truths’ � Kierkegaard said that these truths are totally irrelevant to the personal life of the individual.

� It is more important to find the kind of truths that are meaningful to the individual’s life or “The Truth for Me. ” � The broad description of human nature/beings is unimportant. � It is only man’s “own existence” that is important

The Father of Existentialism � He created his own philosophy of individualism called Existentialism �There is a deep significance of each person. � To draw your entire existence into a philosophical reflection as unique individuals.

� He believed that he was living in an age utterly devoid of passion and commitment. � He was incensed by the vapidness of the established Danish Lutheran Church � To Kierkegaard, Christianity was overwhelming and irrational and was an either/or.

Either Jesus rose on Easter Day… Fully following a Either Jesus Christian way of really died for our sake…life Either you believe that Christianity is true… or not… Being ‘rather’ or ‘to some extent’ religious or not…

� Unlike the “objective truths” or “reasoned truth” of Hegelianism that were irrelevant to the personal life of the individual, � Truth is “Subjective” and that the really important truths are personal. � “The task is precisely to be objective toward oneself and subjective toward all others. ” - Kierkegaard

� Ex: Is Christianity true? �For a person who “understands himself in life, ” this is a question of life and death. �Not discussed but approached with the greatest passion and sincerity.

� Ex: If you fall into the ocean… �You do not have a Mr. Hild discussion whether or not you will drown. �Neither do you ponder whethere are sharks, Communists, or Nutter Butters in the water… �It is a question of life or death.

� Questions whether Christianity is true or God exists can only be approached through faith. � Anything we can know through reason or knowledge are unimportant. � To prove God’s existence, you can content yourself with proofs but suffer loss of faith and religious passion.

� Buddha and Kierkegaard said that Man’s ‘own existence’ is its starting point and was the only important thing. � Existence is the process of realizing the aspiration of who we are.

The “Aesthetic” The “Ethical” The “Religious” • Life based on pure sensory pleasures, intellectual or physical. • Live in the for the moment. • The World of Senses. • Life based in moral codes and the infinite, the eternal. • The highest stage of personal commitment and subjectivity. • One here understands that suffering is inherent to the religious experience

� Lives in the world of the senses. Everything is either fun or boring. � An aesthetic can experience angst, or a sense of dread and a feeling of emptiness. � This angst is almost positive. One is in an “existential situation” and can now leap to a higher stage.

� But either happens or doesn’t “Either/Or” It is your own choice. Yes No Nutter Butters = Drinking or Doing Drugs

� Characterized by seriousness and consistency of moral choices. � Like Kant’s Ethics of Duty � It is not that your opinion is right or wrong, what matters is that you have an opinion.

� The highest stage of personal commitment and subjectivity. � To Kierkegaard, this stage was Christianity, “The only path to redemption. ” � To choose faith rather than pleasure of reason.