The Sickness Unto Death: A Modern Translation for the 21st Century

By Soren Kierkegaard

Unveil the depths of despair, selfhood, and faith in a transformative exploration by renowned philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

Modern Translation for a New Era: This new translation of Kierkegaard's masterpiece, The Sickness Unto Death, brings his profound ideas on despair, self-discover

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chanthology
• Release date: Jun 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9781915449603

Soren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) lived in Copenhagen, Denmark. His books include Works of Love and Spiritual Writings (translated and edited by George Pattison).

Book preview

Foreword

By Chris Ball

Who was Søren Kierkegaard, and what is his Legacy

Søren Kierkegaard, a figure born out of the intellectual fervour of 19th-century Copenhagen, stands as a towering influence in the realms of philosophy, theology, and the burgeoning field of existentialism. His life's work, born from the depths of personal struggle, religious fervour, and a profound understanding of the human psyche, continues to inspire and provoke thought centuries after his time.

Kierkegaard was not just a philosopher in the traditional sense; he was a storyteller, a critic, a theologian, and, most importantly, a human being grappling with the existential angst of his own being. His writings, rich with the complexity of his internal world, invite us into a dialogue with our deepest selves, challenging us to confront the truths of our existence.

Kierkegaard's personal life was marked by profound struggles and complexities that deeply influenced his philosophical work. Born into a devout Christian family in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1813, Kierkegaard was profoundly affected by the fervent piety and strict religious upbringing of his father, Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard. Michael was a stern and melancholic figure who held strict religious beliefs and instilled in his son a deep reverence for Christianity. Kierkegaard's mother, Ane Sørensdatter Lund Kierkegaard, provided a contrasting influence. Unlike her husband, Ane was described as warm, affectionate, and nurturing, offering Søren emotional support and encouragement. Her compassionate nature and unconditional love provided a counterbalance to the severity of his father's religious convictions. From an early age, Kierkegaard grappled with existential questions surrounding faith, morality, and the nature of existence. His mother's more gentle approach to faith, contrasted with his father's intense religious fervour and his own inner turmoil, fostered a sense of existential angst that would permeate much of his work. Despite his intellectual prowess and keen intellect, Kierkegaard struggled with feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, leading to periods of profound despair and depression.

Throughout his life, Kierkegaard's personal relationships were fraught with turmoil and heartache. His engagement to Regine Olsen, a young woman with whom he fell deeply in love, ended in a tumultuous breakup that haunted him for years. His relationship with Regine Olsen is one of the most intriguing aspects of his personal life, deeply intertwined with his philosophical development. Kierkegaard's engagement to Regine Olsen, which lasted from 1840 to 1841, had a profound impact on both of their lives, despite its brevity. Regine was a young woman from a respectable Copenhagen family, and Kierkegaard fell deeply in love with her. However, his feelings for Regine were complex, influenced by his own existential doubts and fears. Kierkegaard struggled with the idea of marriage, viewing it as a potentially distracting or even destructive force that could derail his philosophical pursuits. Despite his love for Regine, he ultimately broke off the engagement, believing that it was in her best interest to free her from any potential suffering caused by his own inner turmoil. The end of his engagement with Regine marked a turning point in Kierkegaard's life. He experienced profound anguish and despair, grappling with feelings of guilt, regret, and existential angst. This period of intense emotional turmoil would shape much of his later philosophical work, particularly his exploration of the nature of faith, despair, and the human condition. Although Kierkegaard and Regine's romantic relationship ended, they maintained a connection throughout their lives. Regine went on to marry another man, Johan Frederik Schlegel, and they had children together. Despite their separate paths, Kierkegaard continued to hold a deep affection for Regine, expressing his enduring love for her in his writings.

The engagement and the heart-wrenching decision to end it, was not just a footnote in Kierkegaard's biography; it was a canvas on which the existential dilemmas of commitment, sacrifice, and individual purpose were vividly painted. Through his reflections on this personal turmoil, Kierkegaard unfolds the layers of what it means to choose, to love, and to exist authentically. In addition, tangled with his romantic struggles were Kierkegaard's struggles with his faith. His constant quest for spiritual fulfilment also left an indelible mark on his work. He grappled with the tension between his deeply held religious beliefs and the existential challenges posed by the modern world. Kierkegaard's sharp critique of Christendom, or the religious developments and his passionate advocacy for a Christianity lived through the existential leap of faith, rather than mere ritual and dogma, have made him a beacon for those seeking a more authentic engagement with their faith. He insisted on the individual's direct relationship with God, bypassing the institutional gatekeepers of religious tradition. This has echoed through the corridors of time. Kierkegaard's focus on the subjective experience of faith has greatly contributed to the growth of existentialist and experiential approaches to religion. This has left a lasting legacy on contemporary manifestations of faith, shaping the way many people approach spirituality, religious practice, and existential questions in the modern world. His call for personal engagement, radical commitment, and subjective truth continues to resonate with many people seeking deeper meaning and connection in their religious lives.

Kierkegaard's life and work stand as a testament to the power of the individual spirit to confront the universal questions of meaning, faith, and existence. His journey encourages us to embrace the complexity of our own lives, to find courage in uncertainty, and to forge a path that is authentically our own. Through his struggles, his love, his faith, and his relentless inquiry, Kierkegaard remains a guiding light for those who dare to seek answers to the most profound questions of life.

Historical and Cultural Background

In the 19th century, Denmark was a hub of intellectual and cultural change. The Enlightenment ideals that emphasised reason, individualism, and the pursuit of knowledge had spurred intellectual curiosity and innovation swept across Europe in the 18th century. Denmark's strategic geographic location facilitated exchanges with other European nations, allowing for the flow of ideas, trade, and cultural influences. This interaction with neighbouring countries and beyond exposed Danish society to diverse perspectives and experiences, fostering intellectual diversity and cultural dynamism. The emergence of the bourgeoisie class in Denmark brought about economic prosperity and social mobility. This newfound affluence enabled individuals to invest in education, patronise the arts, and engage in intellectual pursuits, leading to the flourishing of intellectual and cultural endeavours. Additionally, Denmark's rich historical and cultural heritage, including its Viking past, mediaeval traditions, and Lutheran heritage, provided fertile ground for artistic expression, philosophical inquiry, and cultural revival. Artists, writers, philosophers, and scholars drew inspiration from Denmark's past while exploring new ideas and concepts, contributing to a vibrant cultural scene.

At the time, Hegelianism dominated the intellectual landscape. This philosophical system was developed by the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in the 19th century. At its core, Hegelianism is characterised by its emphasis on the dialectical method, which is a process of arriving at truth through the resolution of contradictions. Central to this is the concept of the dialectic, which involves the interaction of opposing forces or ideas to produce a synthesis that reconciles the contradictions inherent in the original thesis and antithesis. According to Hegel, this process occurs in various domains of human experience, including history, society, nature, and thought. Indeed, Hegel's dialectical method has been applied to various fields, including politics, ethics, art, and religion, influencing thinkers across different disciplines.

In Hegelian philosophy, history is seen as progressing through a series of dialectical stages, culminating in the realisation of absolute knowledge or the Absolute Spirit. This Absolute Spirit is understood as the ultimate reality that encompasses all forms of existence and consciousness. However, Kierkegaard challenged Hegel's notion of progress and historical determinism as he emphasised the radical freedom and responsibility of the individual to make authentic choices and create their own meaning in life. He rejected the idea of a predetermined endpoint or a teleological view of history, advocating instead for a more existentialist understanding of human existence characterised by uncertainty, risk, and the possibility of genuine transformation. 

Kierkegaard also criticised Hegel's concept of faith as a rational synthesis of opposing forces within the Absolute Spirit. Unlike Hegel, who saw faith as a philosophical abstraction reconciling contradictions, Kierkegaard viewed faith as a deeply personal and subjective commitment to the transcendent, involving an existential leap beyond the confines of reason and logic. For Kierkegaard, faith was not a matter of intellectual comprehension but of passionate inwardness and individual encounter with the divine. He believed that life was about personal experience, not abstract theories. And this is likely to be Kierkegaard's primary criticism of Hegelianism: Hegel’s emphasis was on the collective over the individual. His philosophical system sought to explain the entirety of human experience within a comprehensive and rational framework, often subsuming the individual under abstract categories and universal principles. Kierkegaard, however, believed that true wisdom begins with the particular, rather than the universal, emphasising the importance of individual subjectivity, lived experience, and personal engagement with existence. 

The era was dominated by the shadow of Hegelianism, with its neatly ordered, logical framework and emphasis on the collective over the individual and the rational over the existential. This was the zeitgeist of the age. Yet, it was precisely this dominant narrative that Kierkegaard challenged, as for him, existence was not a puzzle to be solved through abstract reasoning but a reality to be lived through the turmoil and ecstasy of individual experience. By centring on individual experience, Kierkegaard shifted the focus of philosophy. However, Kierkegaard's critique of Hegelianism was more than a philosophical dispute; it was a battle for the soul of human understanding. He argued that true wisdom begins not with a system but with a question, not with the universal but with the particular. In doing so, he reclaimed the individual from the margins of philosophical discourse, placing the solitary human being, with all their doubts, fears, and passions, at the very centre of inquiry. The tension between individualism and collectivism is still relevant today. Kierkegaard's emphasis on the significance of the individual continues to shape discussions about freedom, choice, and self-expression. Debates about personal autonomy, identity, and authenticity are not only prominent but necessary!

This emphasis on the individual was not confined to the realm of philosophy but extended into Kierkegaard's contentious relationship with the Church. In his time, the Danish Lutheran Church was a powerful institution, yet one that Kierkegaard saw as having strayed far from the essence of Christianity. His critique was scathing and uncompromising, not because he sought to undermine faith, but because he yearned for a more authentic engagement with it. For Kierkegaard, faith was not about adherence to doctrine or ritual but about a personal, existential leap into the arms of the divine. A sentiment that spoke deeply to my own spiritual journey.

Kierkegaard's battle with the Church and his critique of Hegelianism was rooted in the broader cultural and historical context of a society at the crossroads. At that time, Denmark was grappling with the tensions between tradition and modernity, faith and reason, the collective and the individual. Kierkegaard's work, especially The Sickness Unto Death, was a beacon of radical individuality and existential authenticity in an age often characterised by conformity and abstraction. In an era marked by increasing specialisation and fragmentation of knowledge, Kierkegaard's call for a more existentialist approach to understanding the human condition reminds us of the importance of embracing complexity, ambiguity, and the richness of individual experience.

In The Sickness Unto Death, Kierkegaard offers a profound exploration of despair and redemption and also a critique of his times. He challenged us then, and still challenges us today, to confront the most profound questions of existence not through the safety of abstract systems but through the lived reality of our own lives. His work remains a testament to the enduring power of the individual spirit to question, to believe, and to seek meaning in an often ambiguous world.

Unveiling the Depths of Existence

In The Sickness Unto Death, Søren Kierkegaard delves deep into the human psyche, uncovering the intricacies of despair not merely as a fleeting emotion but as an enduring existential condition woven into the very fabric of our being. 

I believe that the sense of waking up with a feeling of emptiness gnawing at one’s core, a disconnection from the world around that permeates every aspect of one’s existence, is a sentiment that most adults can, at some time, relate to. This, according to Kierkegaard, is the essence of despair – not just a passing mood, but a profound state of disquietude that defines the human condition. It's like an invisible weight pressing down in one’s spirit, robbing one of joy and purpose. Bertolt Brecht, a German playwright, known for his insightful and often provocative views on society, politics, and human nature, conveys this feeling by saying, ‘From the cradle to the grave, human beings are in chains’, or in his more sarcastic remark ‘He who laughs has not yet heard the terrible news’. Such remarks may imply the idea of despair as manifested in tears or outward displays of sadness. However, one of the most striking aspects of Kierkegaard’s analysis is the recognition that despair is not always overt. It doesn't always manifest as visible sorrow or identifiable anguish. In more contemporary terms, it may be conveyed as a picture on social media showing someone smiling brightly at a social gathering or engaging in small talk and laughter, yet unseen in the picture may be a profound sense of hollowness inside – that's a silent struggle of despair. In the 19th century, Kierkegaard spoke of it. In our contemporary world,