Man is spirit. But what is spirit? Spirit is the self. But what is the self? The self is a relation which relates itself to its own self, or it is that in the relation [which accounts for it] that the relation relates itself to its own self; the self is not the relation but [consists in the fact] that the relation relates itself to its own self. Man is a synthesis of the infinite and the finite, of the temporal and the eternal, of freedom and necessity, in short it is a synthesis.

Philosophical Fragments is a Christian philosophical work written by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in 1844. It was the first of three works written under the pseudonym Johannes Climacus, the other two were De omnibus dubitandum est, 1841 and Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, 1846.

Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on organized religion, Christendom, morality, ethics, psychology, and the philosophy of religion, displaying a fondness for metaphor, irony and parables. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a "single individual", giving priority to concrete human reality over abstrac...

Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian and religious author interested in human psychology. He is regarded as a leading pioneer of existentialism and one of the greatest philosophers of the 19th century. In FEAR AND TREMBLING, Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety that must have been present in Abraham when God commanded him to offer his son as a human sacrifice. Abraham had a choice to complete the task or to forget it. He resigned himself to the loss of his son, ac...

In our time nobody is content to stop with faith but wants to go further. It would perhaps be rash to ask where these people are going, but it is surely a sign of breeding and culture for me to assume that everybody has faith, for otherwise it would be queer for them to be . . . going further. In those old days it was different, then faith was a task for a whole lifetime, because it was assumed that dexterity in faith is not acquired in a few days or weeks. When the tried oldster drew near...

Søren Kierkegaard's witty sayings and deep observations never cease to astound and challenge us.In addition to being the founder of religious existentialism, Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, psychologist, and writer.His concepts are simultaneously paradoxical and graceful. He once stated that it is impossible to approach God using reason, as human thought is neither capable of comprehending nor explaining the religious aspect of our existence. Kierkegaard's philosophical...

The Sickness unto Death, Kierkegaard moves beyond anxiety on the mental-emotional level to the spiritual level, where--in contact with the eternal--anxiety becomes despair. Both anxiety and despair reflect the misrelation that arises in the self when the elements of the synthesis--the infinite and the finite--do not come into proper relation to each other. Despair is a deeper expression for anxiety and is a mark of the eternal, which is intended to penetrate temporal existence.

Existentialism is a movement in philosophy and literature that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It holds that, as there is no God or any other transcendent force, the only way to counter this nothingness (and hence to find meaning in life) is by embracing existence.The Existential Literature Collection features:FEAR AND TREMBLING, by Soren KierkegaardMANIFESTO OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY, by Karl Marx and Friedrich EngelsON THE DUTY OF CIVIL DIS...

In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety that must have been present in Abraham when God commanded him to offer his son as a human sacrifice. Abraham had a choice to complete the task or to forget it. He resigned himself to the loss of his son, acting according to his faith. In other words, one must be willing to give up all his or her earthly possessions in infinite resignation and must also be willing to give up whatever it is that he or she loves more than God...

The most accessible Kierkegaard reader ever“In a culture awash in religious silliness, Kierkegaard’s bracing metaphors expose our mediocrities and energize us with a clarified sense of what it means to follow Jesus.” –Eugene Peterson, author, Subversive SpiritualityProvocations contains a little of everything from Kierkegaard’s prodigious output: his famously cantankerous (yet wryly humorous) attacks on what he cal...

Regarded as the father of Existentialism, Søren Kierkegaard transformed philosophy with his conviction that we must all create our own nature. In Fear and Trembling he argues that a true understanding of God can only be attained by making a personal ‘leap of faith.’This revised edition of the standard English translation of Fear and Trembling updates some of the more archaic language and presents Kierkegaard’s landmark philosophical work in modern American English...

"If anyone on the verge of action should judge himself according to the outcome, he would never begin."Fear and Trembling is an influential philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio (John the Silent). The title is a reference to Philippians 2:12, "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Kierkegaard wanted to understand the Abraham's anxiety when God tested him by commanding him to s...