ABSTRACT
Spelled slightly differently in contemporary Danish, Kvalitet and kvalitativ are related both to the German Qualität and the French qualité. All of them ultimately derive from the Latin word qualitas-which was Cicero’s choice when translating the Greek concept, ποιότης (suchness). In general, qualitas designates either a particular property or a quintessential trait of an object or person. The same word could also refer to the nature or essential constitution of something. However, as to its Danish cognate, kvalitet, it customarily connotes a beneficial characteristic that implies a definite virtue, ability, competence, or skill.1 Interestingly, although this meaning is outdated today, kvalitet might have referred to an individual’s reputation or high social standing. In Kierkegaard’s case, quality remains an essentially philosophical-existential term, filtered more or less directly through Aristotle’s Categories, Kant’s “Transcendental Analytic,” and Hegel’s logic.
