(1813-1855) Kierkegaard developed a philosophy based on the idea of the importance of the individual and individual choice. He objected the philosophy of Hegel in particular because it is so impersonal. Kierkegaard said that is it especially important for people to have a meaningful existence. And meaning, he said, comes from whether or not people sense that their lives have a permanent signifigance. The problem is, though, that most people believe that their lives have importance only temporarily.
The most important part of Kierkegaard's philosophy are the three stages of personal development: the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious. (these stages corrospond to stages that kierkegaard experienced in his own life.) The religious stage, according to Kierkegaard, is the most important stage of development.
The problem with the first stage of developement is with a life devoted to pleasure and enjoyment is that these concerns are temporary. Kierkegaard didn't view art as Hegel and Schopenhauer did, as connecting people with a sense of permanance.
He said that if you are aware of the importance of your existence, you will eventually feel dissatisfied with a life devoted to art and pleasure; then your own impermanence and insignificance will fill you with despair. At this point, you can either try to go on living in despair, or you can try to lead a more ethical, responsible existence; the second stage of development. When you start to lead a more responsible existence, you start to introduce an idea of permanence to your life. This sense of permanence is only partial and creates conflict that leads to despair again.
You can only reach the third stage through a leap of faith because there aren't any rational reasons for making this move. You have to make it without any philosophical or conventional religious excuses. This is because what is most important is the truth that only you can know. Making this leap of faith is teh way out of despair and it gives you a sense of the permanent significance of your life.
Kierkegaard: D. Anthony Storm's Web Site on Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard, Soren