Join Books.org — it's free

European Philosophy - General & Miscellaneous
Kierkegaard for Beginners by Donald D. Palmer — book cover

Kierkegaard for Beginners

by Donald D. Palmer
Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Log in to track your reading progress.

Overview

Philosophically, Søren Kierkegaard was the “bridge” that led from Hegel to Existentialism. Kierkegaard abhorred Hegel’s abstract, know-it-all idealism that tried to capture reality in a few words. Kierkegaard’s attack on social and religious complacency and his single-handed assault on traditional Western philosophy generated a crisis that produced a radically new way of philosophizing and made him the founder of the school that would later be called Existentialism. To Kierkegaard, reality was personal, subjective–it began and ended with the individual–and philosophy was not something one merely talked about, it was the way you lived. Kierkegaard For Beginners explains, plainly and simply, the great Danish thinker’s obsession with the particularity of human existence as well as his demonstration of how the creation of an authentic new kind of individual is possible.

Through text and images, this book introduces readers to Soren Kierkegaard, whose attack on social and religious complacency and traditional Western philosophy in the 19th century generated a crisis that produced a radically new way of thinking and made him founder of the school of existentialism. This is a valuable introduction to the man and his work. Illustrations.

Synopsis

Philosophically, Søren Kierkegaard was the “bridge” that led from Hegel to Existentialism. Kierkegaard abhorred Hegel’s abstract, know-it-all idealism that tried to capture reality in a few words. Kierkegaard’s attack on social and religious complacency and his single-handed assault on traditional Western philosophy generated a crisis that produced a radically new way of philosophizing and made him the founder of the school that would later be called Existentialism. To Kierkegaard, reality was personal, subjective–it began and ended with the individual–and philosophy was not something one merely talked about, it was the way you lived. Kierkegaard For Beginners explains, plainly and simply, the great Danish thinker’s obsession with the particularity of human existence as well as his demonstration of how the creation of an authentic new kind of individual is possible.

About the Author, Donald D. Palmer

Donald Palmer is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the college of Marin in Kentfield, California. Currently he is visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is also author of: 
Sartre for Beginners Structuralism and Poststructuralism For Beginners Looking at Philosophy, Mayfield Publishing Co.
Does the Center Hold?, Mayfield Publishing Co.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Book Details

Published
August 1, 2007
Publisher
Steerforth Press
Pages
154
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781934389140

More by Donald D. Palmer

Similar books