Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (
IPA: , but usually
Anglicized as ; ) (
5 May,
1813 –
11 November,
1855) was a prolific 19th century
Danish philosopher and
theologian. Kierkegaard strongly criticized both the
Hegelianism of his time, and what he saw as the empty
formalities of the
Danish church. Much of his work deals with religious problems such as the nature of faith, the institution of the
Christian Church, Christian ethics and theology, and the
emotions and
feelings of individuals when faced with life choices. His early work was written under various
pseudonyms who present their own distinctive viewpoints in a complex dialogue. Kierkegaard left the task of discovering the meaning of the works to the reader, because "the task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted". Subsequently, many have interpreted Kierkegaard as an
existentialist,
neo-orthodoxist,
postmodernist,
humanist,
individualist, etc. Crossing the boundaries of
philosophy,
theology,
psychology, and
literature, Kierkegaard came to be regarded as a highly significant and influential figure in contemporary thought.
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