Søren Kierkegaard was born in 1813 in Copenhagen, Denmark, the youngest of seven children of a wealthy wool merchant. His father was stern, deeply pious, and prone to guilt and melancholy – traits he passed to Søren. Kierkegaard grew up in a house haunted by a sense of sin and religious intensity (his father believed he’d cursed their family by an impious act as a boy, and indeed many of Søren’s siblings died young, fueling that tragic belief).

Kierkegaard studied theology and philosophy at the University of Copenhagen. He wasn’t a diligent student at first – he spent a lot of time in the social scene of the city, writing satirical pieces and developing his wit. But tragedy and introspection in his mid-twenties (especially his father’s death) spurred him to find purpose.

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