# Soren Kierkegaard ## Basic idea Danish theologian-philosopher (1813-1855), commonly regarded as the father of existentialism. Argued that truth is *subjective* — what matters is how passionately and authentically one lives, not abstract system-building. ## Key tenets * Three life-stages: aesthetic (pleasure), ethical (duty), religious (faith). * "Leap of faith" — religious commitment cannot be rationally justified, only chosen. * Anxiety (*Angst*) is the dizziness of freedom — the recognition of infinite possibility. * Truth is subjectivity: the authentic *how* matters more than the propositional *what*. ## Soren Kierkegaard > I opened my eyes and saw the real world - and I began to laugh and I haven't stopped since. ## Meaningless Laugh at the world's foolishness and you'll regret it, cry at the world's foolishness and you'll regret it. **The ony intelligent response to life's horror is to laugh at it** ## The Concept of Anxiety Life can only be understood backwards, but made forwards. Our constant angst mean unhappiness is more or less written into the script of life. ### Resources * --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://isubasinghe.gitbook.io/isithas-wiki/philosophy/existentialism/soren_kierkegaard.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.