Søren Kierkegaard Existentialism

Søren Kierkegaard was born on May 5, 1813 in the Copenhagen, Denmark. Kierkegaard’s father was Michael Pederson Kierkegaard a very prosperous wool merchant who also influenced Kierkegaard’s religious beliefs growing up by raising him according to Christian Tradition. (Swenson) This upbringing by his father may have also contributed to his personality and writing style as both Søren and his father could be described as melancholy people. Kierkegaard was also influenced in his writings by the deaths of his siblings who, except for one brother, all died while they were still young. This experience of witnessing the deaths of so many close relatives is said to have led to Kierkegaard developing a melancholy look on life. (Martens) Kierkegaard …show more content…
Kierkegaard is called the “father of existentialism”. Some of these writings that led to the beliefs of existentialism are his view as anxiety as a primary trait of human beings (Burnham). Interestingly contrary to the popular belief most people hold Kierkegaard does not view anxiety as a negative factor of human beings but instead lifts it up as a force that leads to change within people. Existentialism is defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as “an analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong” (Existentialism, Merriam-Webster) What this seems to be saying is that existentialism is the realization by a person that they are solely responsible for their actions and not god or some other supreme being. This contrasts more ancient beliefs that gods had a hand in everything that happened in the world and somewhat reflects Christian theology where everyone is reminded that they have free will and their actions dictate where they will go in the