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PHILOSOPHY
Existentialism and Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard
Biographical Info
– Born in Denmark
– Deeply religious, but rejected his church
– Wrote 18 books
– Died at age 42
Kierkegaard
Philosophic Contribution
 Considered the founder of existentialism
 Believed a person must be totally committed to
living life
 Existence is reserved for people who are
thoughtful, make decisions by considering
choices, and above all, make commitments
 He felt that to get truth, a person must act on
personal conviction, not one imposed by
someone else. This search for truth causes
apprehension, which he called “dread.”
 Awareness of death and
nothingness=existential dread
Kierkegaard
The Aesthetic Stage: Level One
 Behaves according to impulses or
emotions
 Has no religious belief
 The chief motivation is to enjoy life
 Resents anything that limits freedom of
choice

What moves people to the next level?
Kierkegaard

Movement from the aesthetic stage to the
ethical stage occurs because the use of
reason identifies moral law as an
expression of our universal reason.

One can either stay at level 1 or MAKE A
CHOICE and COMMITT to go to the next
level.
Kierkegaard
The Ethical Stage: Level Two
 Recognizes and accepts rules of conduct
that reason formulates and the limitations
on their life that moral responsibility
imposes
 Takes a firm stand on moral questions
 Considers moral evil to be a product of
either ignorance or weakness of will
 What
moves people to the next level?
Kierkegaard

Change occurs from level 2 to level 3 because
ethical people ultimately come to realize that
they are in fact, incapable of fulfilling the moral
law, that they deliberately violate that law, and
therefore become conscious of their sin and
guilt.

Now they must either stay at level 2 and try to
fulfill the moral law or respond to their new
awareness and move to the next level.
Kierkegaard
The Religious Stage: Level Three
 Achieved by an act of commitment, a leap
of faith
 There is a big difference between faith
and reason at this stage
 It is an all or nothing stage
 People at this stage accept belief through
existential free will rather than by using
the philosophic rules of reason and proof;
they simply choose to believe.
Purpose in Life Test
Follow the directions on page 32 of your
packet using the textbook pages 63-66
 Possible scores range from 20-140 (the
mean is 102)

– Scores of 113 and above suggest the
presence of definite purpose and meaning
– Scores of 91 or below suggest lack of clear
meaning
– Scores in the middle range of 92-112
represents uncertain definition
PIL Test
 Possible
scores range from 20-140
(mean 102). Scores of 113 or above
suggest the presence of definite
purpose and meaning while scores of
91 or below suggest lack of clear
meaning. The middle range of 92112 represents uncertain definition.