TLDR;
This video explains Kierkegaard's philosophy on attaining a meaningful life through existentialism, contrasting it with Hegel's system. It introduces Kierkegaard's concept of the three stages of life—aesthetic, ethical, and religious—as a path to self-realization and authentic existence. The video highlights the importance of personal choice, commitment, and faith in navigating these stages, ultimately emphasizing the necessity of a "leap of faith" to reach the religious stage and find true fulfillment.
- Kierkegaard's existentialism emphasizes individual existence and choice, contrasting with Hegel's focus on the development of reason.
- Authentic existence is achieved through self-realization via the aesthetic, ethical, and religious stages of life.
- The religious stage, attained through a "leap of faith," is presented as the path to true fulfillment and meaningful existence.
Introduction to Kierkegaard's Philosophy [0:01]
The video introduces Kierkegaard's philosophy, which centers on existentialism. Kierkegaard's existentialism emphasizes how individuals discover meaning in their lives through a leap of faith. His philosophy is a reaction to Hegel's speculative philosophy, which, according to Kierkegaard, subsumes the individual within the development of reason, reducing them to passivity. Kierkegaard prioritizes concrete existence and personal choice, arguing that truth is found through religious faith, contrasting with Hegel's system-building approach.
Kierkegaard vs. Hegel [0:35]
Kierkegaard's philosophy is presented as a reaction against Hegel's system. In Hegel's view, individuals are merely components in the unfolding of reason, lacking an active role. Kierkegaard argues that this reduces individuals to passivity and renders their lives meaningless. For Kierkegaard, "existence" is a term unique to human beings, involving striving, choosing, and committing. This contrasts sharply with Hegel's system, where such individual agency is not captured.
Attaining Authentic Existence [3:19]
Authentic existence, according to Kierkegaard, is achieved through realizing oneself by making choices between alternatives and committing to those choices. This self-realization is possible through the three stages of life: aesthetic, ethical, and religious. These stages represent a process where the true self or authentic existence is actualized in the form of individuality.
The Aesthetic Stage [4:33]
The aesthetic stage is characterized by passion and sensory experience, where the main goal is to maximize pleasure and satisfy desires. Hedonism exemplifies this stage. However, individuals in this stage are not truly free because their desires are never fully satisfied, leading to emptiness. Kierkegaard acknowledges the importance of satisfying physiological needs but notes that the aesthetic life, lacking commitment to ideals, inevitably results in boredom. Boredom makes individuals realize that their desires can never be fully satisfied, prompting them to seek higher forms of pleasure or change their way of life.
The Ethical Stage [6:59]
The ethical stage arises from the decision to commit to the moral ideals of society. Individuals in this stage consider the effects of their actions on others, emphasizing social justice and equality. The primary goal is to live according to ethical standards and become an ethical person. Individuals take responsibility for their choices and actions, seeking to fulfill their duties and responsibilities to their work, fellow humans, and society. However, individuals eventually realize they do not always do what they ought to do, leading to guilt and despair.
The Religious Stage [9:50]
The religious stage is reached when individuals realize they cannot find true fulfillment in the ethical stage, no matter how hard they try to be righteous. This realization leads to the experience of guilt and despair. Kierkegaard posits that only religion can offer the possibility of true fulfillment and meaningful existence through God's forgiveness, which eradicates guilt and despair. The religious stage is not simply an alternative to the ethical but may even be incompatible with it, as seen in the example of God's command to Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Leap of Faith [12:15]
Kierkegaard argues that faith must sometimes violate human rationality, nature, and morality. The absurdity of religion proves its unique value. Believing in what seems irrational and immoral is what Kierkegaard calls a "leap of faith." This choice must be based on self-conscious and authentic decision rather than conformism, which Kierkegaard terms "inwardness" or "truth as subjectivity." In the religious stage, individuals find true fulfillment and attain an authentic or meaningful existence through this leap of faith.
