Kierkegaard and Humanity

4 Commentsby   |  10.04.13  |  Second Blog Post

Soren Kierkegaard is a very what-if-everyone-actually-understands-kierkegaard-fine-and-just-pretends-not-to-get-it-so-they-dont-have-to-explain-it-to-me-thumb person. I think a lot of his ideas are somewhat contradictory. Within his 3 stages of life I find several different stages of our salvation line. His first stage, the “aesthetic” stage, is a starting point for the human condition. There is no control over self or anything around you. Humans lack commitment and almost cannot take responsibility for anything they do. In this stage, I see his theories fitting into the fallen category. His next stage is the “ethical” stage. In this stage, humans begin to take a true direction in life and become more personally responsible. They begin to understand right and wrong and morals take priority over pleasure. Their autonomy, reflection and social awareness begins to increase. I believe that this stage shows redemption. Not only is he saying that humans are flawed, but he is saying that we can be fixed. As we grow older we can be saved. The third stage of individual existence is “religious”. This stage requires some commitment to some moral absolute. He considers religion to be the highest stage of human existence. If one can achieve this level of human development, they have come to fully understand the incarnation and human sinfulness. So in that respect, I find it hard to categorize Kierkegaard. I think that his development of human existence speaks very fully into all of the stages of humanity in general. His theory is almost an allegory for humanity in the way we must grow. There is creation, the fall, redemption and a new creation; Kierkegaard speaks our own development into each of these.

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4 Comments

  1. Tyler McCuistion
    3:15 pm, 10.07.13

    I like how you linked Kierkegaard to each of the paradigms. I also believe that all three of the stages he talks about lead to redemption, so I see him overall as a redemptionist, if that’s even a word. He explains how we began, what caused us to fall, and how we can save ourselves based on those ideas. Very interesting read.

  2. Caroline Nikolaus
    6:12 pm, 10.07.13

    Good post- I love this quote: “As we grow older we can be saved.” This is an interesting idea to think about, that yes, at some point, we must grow. There is a learning process, an awakening into knowledge that for Kierkegaard comes in stages. What does he say about people who do not transition in this order, is that possible? Or people who never reach certain stages?

  3. Jacey Ferrara
    6:40 pm, 10.07.13

    Kasey, I too, had trouble identifying one category to put Kierkegaard into. I agree that he teaches us about each aspect of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. I like that you saw his theory as an allegory for how we must grow as individuals. I also liked that you focused on the three stages of life he talks about. I took a more broad approach when I was trying to identify what his thinking contributes to, but even focusing on these three stages there is so much to unpack. I see how Tyler could say overall, he is a redemption-ist (?) because even these stages show he believes people can make improvements and advancements in their stages of life.

  4. Maddy Spell
    7:20 pm, 10.07.13

    That is a really good point! I like how you explained your thinking in each of the stages. He is hard to categorize since his concepts cover such a large amount of information. I felt like this was a great way to categorize him.

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