Encyclopedia of Philosophy: KIERKEGAARD

In the same decade as the second edition of The World as Will and Idea appeared, the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard put forward a philosophy which in its practical aspect had much in common with Schopenhauer, but which rests on a totally different metaphysical foundation. Instead of being enunciated as a system in a single work, Kierkegaard's thought was presented in a variety of ways in separate essays of different styles.  Most of Kierkegaard's writings were written in his thirties, between 1843 and 1853. Brought up in a Copenhagen family of religious gloom, he revolted against theology during his time at university, and turned to philosophy. He then acquired a knowledge of, and a distaste for, Hegelianism. In 1838 he underwent a religious conversion, and gained a conviction of his philosophical vocation, which became more intense after he broke off, in 1841, his engagement to Regina Olsen. Between 1843 and 1846 he published, under different pseudonyms, a number of works, of which the most important were Either/Or and Fear and Trembling, followed by the Concluding Unscientific Postscript of 1846. After a mystical experience in 1848 he abandoned the use of pseudonyms and published a number of Christian discourses and The Sickness unto Death. Much of the latter part of his life was taken up in conflict with the established Danish Church, which he regarded as Christian only in name. He died in 1855.