Danish
philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) reacted against Hegel's philosophy
which was the dominant one in his time. Kierkegaard emphasized the significance
of the individual. Thought Hegel obscured the individual’s responsibility of
their own life. Kierkegaard wrote a lot
about religion and thought that either your into it or not, but don’t be
half-assed about it. He’s an existentialist.
He draws his entire existence into his philosophical reflection. “The truth for
me.” The truth according to Kierkegaard is subjective (really important truths
are personal.) Things we can know through reason are unimportant. (Only faith
is really important!) If you try to prove the existence of God, you lose faith
and passion. This was his “social criticism.” Kierkegaard hated conformity and
the notion that the individual is bound to others. for Kierkegaard there are
three stages of life: aesthetic, ethical and religious. In the aesthetic stage,
one lives for the moment and can have a feeling of emptiness. In the ethical,
one contemplates the seriousness and consistency of their ethical choices,
finally people settle into Christianity...
For more about the philosophy of Soren Kierkegaard you can go to our Guide to Kierkegaard's Philosophy which goes into greater length. You can also make use of out list of Kierkegaard's terms and concepts. or our summary of his famous book Fear and Trembling.
Previous summary: Georg Hegel