Was Kierkegaard a nihilist?

Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855): The nineteenth century Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard—who many academics regard among the first existentialist philosophers—wrote about nihilism, calling it “leveling.” Kierkegaard felt that leveling was not a positive thing, because the problem of nihilism was that it meant ...

Is Soren Kierkegaard a nihilist?

Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) posited an early form of nihilism, which he referred to as leveling.

Which philosopher is a nihilist?

Among philosophers, Friedrich Nietzsche is most often associated with nihilism. For Nietzsche, there is no objective order or structure in the world except what we give it.

Who were famous nihilists?

Nihilism has existed in one form or another for hundreds of years, but is usually associated with Friedrich Nietzsche, the 19th century German philosopher (and pessimist of choice for high school kids with undercuts) who proposed that existence is meaningless, moral codes worthless, and God is dead.

Did Nietzsche read Kierkegaard?

Nor did Nietzsche read Kierkegaard. By the end of Nietzsche's life, it is true, Kierkegaard was becoming known in Germany. In 1879 Georg Brandes published in German his Literary Character-Sketch on Kierkegaard.

FILOSOFIE - Søren Kierkegaard

Did Dostoevsky read Kierkegaard?

Although Dostoevsky wrote after Kierkegaard, it is him that defined existentialist philosophy the best. Kaufmann declares "It is as if Kierkegaard had stepped right out of Dostoevsky's pen”, adding that “part one of Notes from Underground is the best overture for existentialism ever written”.

How do Kierkegaard and Nietzsche differ?

Kierkegaard's religiousness emphasizes faith that is in its tension with doubt. The truth in subjectivity is not something that simply exists for all time, but must be wrestled and eventually submitted to. Nietzsche prefers to make truth submit to the will of greatness.

What did Kierkegaard believe?

For his emphasis on individual existence—particularly religious existence—as a constant process of becoming and for his invocation of the associated concepts of authenticity, commitment, responsibility, anxiety, and dread, Søren Kierkegaard is generally considered the father of existentialism.

Was Dostoevsky a nihilist?

Dostoyevsky urged Russians to rediscover their native roots and Christian Orthodox ideals, eschewing the Western ideologies that he saw as infecting Russian society. Through his novel Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky targeted Russian nihilism that had taken a hold of the Russian youth.

Is Buddhism a nihilist?

In The Will to Power, Buddhism is described as passively nihilistic with the purpose of acting as a temporary salve for those suffering (1968, 18).

What denomination is Kierkegaard?

Søren Kierkegaard was born to a Lutheran Protestant family. His father, Michael Pederson Kierkegaard, was a Lutheran Pietist, but he questioned how God could let him suffer so much. One day, he climbed a mountain and cursed God.

Is Camus a nihilist?

First, as noted in the introduction, Camus dramatizes nihilism by stating it in terms of its most dire practical consequences: suicide and murder. In this way, he makes the problem itself widely accessible to those who are not philosophical specialists, and highlights its scope and significance.

Is Existentialism a nihilist?

For Camus, the entire purpose of Existential philosophy is to overcome absurdity, or, more accurately, for man to triumph over the absurdity of existence. So Existentialism is the opposite of nihilism: the nihilist says "There is no god, no heaven or hell, so screw it: there can be no right or wrong.

What would Kierkegaard think of Nietzsche?

Kierkegaard agrees that life can be absurd and that meaning could be hard to come by. As opposed to Nietzsche, who said the death of God caused this, Søren argued that, in the present age, meaning is sucked out of concepts by abstraction and a tendency to view things with too much rationality.

How are Nietzsche and Kierkegaard similar?

Abstract. Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche both felt that life is irrational. They were problem thinkers who chose not to follow the systematic approach to philosophy as their predecessors did. In this regard, they stood on common ground.

Is Nietzsche a nihilist?

Summary. Nietzsche is a self-professed nihilist, although, if we are to believe him, it took him until 1887 to admit it (he makes the admission in a Nachlass note from that year). No philosopher's nihilism is more radical than Nietzsche's and only Kierkegaard's and Sartre's are as radical.

Did Dostoevsky agree with Nietzsche?

It remains unlikely that Dostoyevsky read Nietzsche, even though Dostoyevsky had philosophical influences such as Kant, Hegel, and Solovyov amongst others.

What did Nietzsche think of Dostoevsky?

Nietzsche once described Dostoevsky as “the only person who has ever taught me anything about psychology” (Gide 168).

Did Nietzsche and Dostoevsky meet?

Summary. The first time that Nietzsche crossed the path of Dostoevsky was in the winter of 1886–87. While in Nice, Nietzsche discovered in a bookshop the volume L'esprit souterrain. Two years later, he defined Dostoevsky as the only psychologist from whom he had anything to learn.

What is Kierkegaard's philosophy of life?

Kierkegaard claims that the only way to make life worthwhile is to embrace faith in God, and that faith necessarily involves embracing the absurd. One has faith in God, but one cannot believe in God. We believe in things that we can prove, but we can only have faith in things that are beyond our understanding.

Does existentialism believe in God?

Existentialism can be atheistic, theological (or theistic) or agnostic. Some Existentialists, like Nietzsche, proclaimed that "God is dead" and that the concept of God is obsolete. Others, like Kierkegaard, were intensely religious, even if they did not feel able to justify it.

What are the 3 stages of existence in Kierkegaard?

In the pseudonymous works of Kierkegaard's first literary period, three stages on life's way, or three spheres of existence, are distinguished: the aesthetic, the ethical, and the religious.

What did Kierkegaard and Nietzsche contribution to existentialism?

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche provided the basic foundations of 19^th century Existentialism. It is a philosophy that emphasises the existence of the individual as a free and responsible agent determining their own development.

Why is Nietzsche the father of existentialism?

Nietzsche's contribution to existentialism was the idea that men must accept that they are part of a material world, regardless of what else might exist. As part of this world, men must live as if there is nothing else beyond life. A failure to live, to take risks, is a failure to realize human potential.

How did existentialism begin?

The roots of existentialism as a philosophy began with the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855). Kierkegaard was intensely interested in man's relationship with God, and its ultimate impossibility. Man is finite and individual, whereas God is infinite and absolute, so the two can never truly meet.