The Quotable Kierkegaard

The Quotable Kierkegaard

The most comprehensive and authoritative collection of Kierkegaard quotations ever published "Why I so much prefer autumn to spring is that in the autumn one looks at heaven—in the spring at the earth."—Søren Kierkegaard The father of existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a philosopher who could write like an angel. With only a sentence or two, he could plumb the depths of the human spirit. In this collection of some 800 quotations, the reader will find dazzling bon mots next to words of life-changing power. Drawing from the authoritative Princeton editions of Kierkegaard's writings, this book presents a broad selection of his wit and wisdom, as well as a stimulating introduction to his life and work. Organized by topic, this volume covers notable Kierkegaardian concerns such as anxiety, despair, existence, irony, and the absurd, but also erotic love, the press, busyness, and the comic. Here readers will encounter both well-known quotations ("Life must be understood backward. But then one forgets the other principle, that it must be lived forward") and obscure ones ("Beware false prophets who come to you in wolves' clothing but inwardly are sheep—i.e., the phrasemongers"). Those who spend time in these pages will discover the writer who said, "my grief is my castle," but who also taught that "the best defense against hypocrisy is love." Illuminating and delightful, this engaging book also provides a substantial portrait of one of the most influential of modern thinkers. Gathers some 800 quotations Drawn from the authoritative Princeton editions of Kierkegaard's writings Includes an introduction, a brief account and timeline of Kierkegaard's life, a guide to further reading, and an index

Quotable Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard

The Danish philosopher, theologian, and author Søren Kierkegaard is widely considered to be one of the most important and wide-ranging religious thinkers of the modern age. He is known as the father of existentialism, but his work was also influential on theories of modernism, theology, Western culture, church politics, and the Christian faith. His wit, imagination and humor have inspired a generation of followers, from Woody Allen to Franz Kafka. But how did this inattentive schoolboy rise to critique the work of great thinkers such as Hegel and the German romantics? Who was the real (and unusual) person writing behind so many pseudonyms? And in what way are Kierkegaard’s concepts still relevant today? In this absorbing new biography, Alastair Hannay unravels the mystery of Søren Kierkegaard’s short but momentous career. Looking at both Kierkegaard the thinker and the person, Hannay describes this controversial figure’s key concepts and major works alongside the major incidents in his private and public life. From Kierkegaard’s longing for selfhood as expressed at the age of twenty-two, to a self-provoked spat with a satirical weekly that has caused him to be caricatured to this day, to a verbal assault on the Church in the months prior to his early death at the age of forty-two, Søren Kierkegaard is the fascinating story of a man destined to become a thorn in the side of society.