ABSTRACT
Søren Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death is widely recognized as one of the most significant and influential works of Christian philosophy written in the nineteenth century. One of the cornerstones of Kierkegaard’s reputation as a writer and thinker, the book is also a masterclass in the art of interpretation. In critical thinking, interpretation is all about defining and clarifying terms – making sure that everyone is on the same page. But it can also be about redefining terms: showing old concepts in a new light by interpreting them in a certain way. This skill is at the heart of The Sickness unto Death.
Kierkegaard’s book focuses on the meaning of “despair” – the sickness named in the title. For Kierkegaard, the key problem of existence was an individual’s relationship with God, and he defines true despair as equating to the idea of sin – something that separates people from God, or from the idea of a higher standard beyond ourselves. Kierkegaard’s interpretative journey into the ideas of despair, sin and death is a Christian exploration of the place of the individual in the world. But its interpretative skills inspired generations of philosophers of all stripes – including notorious atheists like Jean-Paul Sartre.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
section 1|24 pages
Influences
module 1|6 pages
Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context
module 2|6 pages
Module 2: Academic Context
module 3|6 pages
Module 3: The Problem
module 4|5 pages
Module 4: The Author’s Contribution
section 2|22 pages
Ideas
module 5|5 pages
Module 5: Main Ideas
module 6|5 pages
Module 6: Secondary Ideas
module 7|5 pages
Module 7: Achievement
module 8|6 pages
Module 8: Place in The Author’s Work
section 3|22 pages
Impact
module 9|5 pages
Module 9: The First Responses
module 10|6 pages
Module 10: The Evolving Debate
module 11|5 pages
Module 11: Impact and Influence Today
module 12|5 pages
Module 12: Where Next?