Kierkegaard, Sören
Kierkegaard, Sren
(1813-1855) Danish religious thinker whose influence was largely limited to Scandinavian and German circles until recently. His works are now translated into English and his thought revived by contemporary social pessimists. Eternity, he held, is more important than time; sin is worse than suffering ; man is an egotist and must experience despair; God is beyond reason and man; Christianity stands opposed to this world and time and to man’s reason; paradoxes are the inevitable result of man’s reflections; Christian ethics realizable only in eternity. Kierkegaard was raised in a stern Christian environment; he reacted against orthodox religion and official philosophies (especially Hegelianism). An individualist, a sensitive, melancholic personality suffering intense frustrations. Cf. German ed. of K’s writingsSmmtliche Werke (1909-), and Eng. translations of Swenson (Post-Scientific Philosophy, etc.). — V.F.