Uncover the life and thought of Søren Kierkegaard, a pivotal figure often called the "father of existentialism". This episode delves into Kierkegaard's unique "Indirect Communication", where he used pseudonyms like Victor Eremita for works such as Either/Or (1843), exploring the tension between aesthetic and ethical modes of life. We'll trace his journey from his early prolific output, including Fear and Trembling (1843) and The Concept of Anxiety (1844), to his later, signed religious works and his "Attack upon Official Christianity" (1854-1855), particularly against Bishop Martensen. Discover his profound insights into subjectivity, faith, and despair, concepts that underpin his challenge to societal conformity and his pursuit of the "single individual". Learn how Kierkegaard became a laughingstock during "The Corsair Affair" (beginning December 1845) yet continued to write, shaping existentialist thought and influencing figures like Sartre and Heidegger.

Works Cited

• Carreira, Jeff. "Romanticism and Existential Philosophy." Philosophy is Not a Luxury, 12 Aug. 2010.
• Cross, Andrew. "Neither either nor or." The Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard, edited by Alastair Hannay and Gordon Daniel Marino, Cambridge UP, 1997, pp. 125-53.
• Davenport, John. "The Meaning of Kierkegaard's Choice Between the Aesthetic and the Ethical." Southwest Philosophy Review, vol. 13, 1997, pp. 69-91.
• Evans, C. Stephen. "Kierkegaard on Human Spirituality." The Table, Biola University Center for Christian Thought, 10 May 2014.
• Goodman, Daniel. "Kierkegaard's Attack on Cultural Christianity." Plough Quarterly.
• Goodman, Daniel. "Beyond Romanticism: Kierkegaard, Irony, and the Modern Self." Ad Fontes Journal, 10 July 2024.
• Gosetti-Ferencei, Jennifer Anna. On Being and Becoming: An Existentialist Approach to Life. Oxford UP, 2021.
• Kierkegaard, Søren. Either/Or. Translated by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Princeton UP, 1987-88.
• Kierkegaard, Søren. Fear and Trembling and The Sickness Unto Death. Translated by Walter Lowrie, Princeton UP, 1941.
• Kierkegaard, Søren. Søren Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers. Edited by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, Indiana UP, 1967-78.
• Krishek, Sharon. "Kierkegaard's Existential Lover." IAI News, 12 Feb. 2018.
• Lowrie, Walter. A Short Life of Kierkegaard. Princeton UP, 1942.
• Perkins, Robert L., editor. International Kierkegaard Commentary. Mercer UP.
• "Soren Kierkegaard — The Father of Existentialism." The Living Philosophy.
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• "Either/Or (Kierkegaard book)." Wikipedia.