Existentialism and Kierkegaard PHILOSOPHY Existentialism and Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard Biographical Info Born in Denmark Deeply religious, but rejected his church Wrote 18 books Died at age 42

Kierkegaard Philosophic Contribution Considered the founder of existentialism Believed a person must be totally committed to living life Existence is reserved for people who are thoughtful, make decisions by considering choices, and above all, make commitments He felt that to get truth, a person must act on personal conviction, not one imposed by someone else. This search for truth causes apprehension, which he called “dread.” Awareness of death and nothingness=existential dread

Kierkegaard The Aesthetic Stage: Level One Behaves according to impulses or emotions Has no religious belief The chief motivation is to enjoy life Resents anything that limits freedom of choice What moves people to the next level?

Kierkegaard Movement from the aesthetic stage to the ethical stage occurs because the use of reason identifies moral law as an expression of our universal reason. One can either stay at level 1 or MAKE A CHOICE and COMMITT to go to the next level.

Kierkegaard What moves people to the next level? The Ethical Stage: Level Two Recognizes and accepts rules of conduct that reason formulates and the limitations on their life that moral responsibility imposes Takes a firm stand on moral questions Considers moral evil to be a product of either ignorance or weakness of will What moves people to the next level?

Kierkegaard Change occurs from level 2 to level 3 because ethical people ultimately come to realize that they are in fact, incapable of fulfilling the moral law, that they deliberately violate that law, and therefore become conscious of their sin and guilt. Now they must either stay at level 2 and try to fulfill the moral law or respond to their new awareness and move to the next level.

Kierkegaard The Religious Stage: Level Three Achieved by an act of commitment, a leap of faith There is a big difference between faith and reason at this stage It is an all or nothing stage People at this stage accept belief through existential free will rather than by using the philosophic rules of reason and proof; they simply choose to believe.

Purpose in Life Test Follow the directions on page 32 of your packet using the textbook pages 63-66 Possible scores range from 20-140 (the mean is 102) Scores of 113 and above suggest the presence of definite purpose and meaning Scores of 91 or below suggest lack of clear meaning Scores in the middle range of 92-112 represents uncertain definition

PIL Test Possible scores range from 20-140 (mean 102). Scores of 113 or above suggest the presence of definite purpose and meaning while scores of 91 or below suggest lack of clear meaning. The middle range of 92-112 represents uncertain definition.