"Choice" and "Regret" are
highly important ethical concepts in Kierkegaard's philosophy. For Kierkegaard,
only and independent and responsible choice of an individual who decides for
himself can lead him to live a fully authentic life. A person cannot have a
true personality when he escapes the burden of responsibility for his choices.
But Kierkegaard also hold that if someone adopts a religious standpoint of
faith (Like Abraham, see Fear and Trembling) his free choices will always include regret since freedom
of choice diminishes God's decrees and includes sin. This is the Paradox of faith Kierkegaard speaks often about. In this paradox, the choice which includes
regret, the ethical (see definition
of Kierkegaard's ethical) ends and the person transcends into the
religious sphere in which he can find redemption and a full realization of
himself.
