Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic and religious author who is thought to be the father of existentialism. His writings span over various topics including psychology, Christianity, ethics, morality, and poetry. Among his many works there are two that stand out to me more than the others, The Sickness Unto Death and The Concept of Anxiety. Both of these works are more psychological in nature. The Sickness Unto Death was written in 1849 under the pseudonym Anti-Climacus. The book is about his concept of despair which he relates back to the Christian idea of original sin. The Concept of Anxiety was published in 1844 under the pseudonym Vigilius Haufniensis. Throughout the book he deals with anxiety which he describes as an unfocused fear or a “dizziness of freedom.”
Kierkegaard himself suffered from anxiety and throughout his life experienced great tragedy and loss. By the time Kierkegaard was 35, he had lost both his parents and all his brothers and sisters except for one. This for clear reasons leads him to struggle with what he called melancholy and what we moderns would call depression. This melancholy coupled with his anxiety provided him with an insider’s understanding of the topics he wrote about. Below, you will find ten quotes from his most notable works The Sickness Unto Death, The Concept of Anxiety, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life, and The Journals of Kierkegaard.
1.
“A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that’s just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it’s a joke.”
― Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
2.
“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.”
― Søren Kierkegaard , The Concept of Anxiety
3.
“People understand me so poorly that they don’t even understand my complaint about them not understanding me.”
― Søren Kierkegaard, The Journals of Kierkegaard
4.
“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss – an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. – is sure to be noticed.”
― Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death
5.
“I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations — one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it — you will regret both.”
― Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
6.
“What is a poet? An unhappy man who hides deep anguish in his heart, but whose lips are so formed that when the sigh and cry pass through them, it sounds like lovely music…. And people flock around the poet and say: ‘Sing again soon’ – that is, ‘May new sufferings torment your soul but your lips be fashioned as before, for the cry would only frighten us, but the music, that is blissful.”
― Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
7.
“If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!”
― Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
8.
“How did I get into the world? Why was I not asked about it and why was I not informed of the rules and regulations but just thrust into the ranks as if I had been bought by a peddling shanghaier of human beings? How did I get involved in this big enterprise called actuality? Why should I be involved? Isn’t it a matter of choice? And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint?”
― Søren Kierkegaard
9.
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, & the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
10.
“Since my earliest childhood a barb of sorrow has lodged in my heart. As long as it stays I am ironic — if it is pulled out I shall die.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
