A Macat Analysis of Søren Kierkegaard's The Sickness unto Death
Søren Kierkegaard has long been considered the father of the philosophical movement known as Christian existentialism, which focuses on the living human being. In his major 1849 work, The Sickness Unto Death, he takes readers on a journey from the human self, its spirit, despair, and sin, through to faith.
Kierkegaard championed the fact that the “single specific individual” was of most importance and never tired in his attempt to address the universally human concept of despair.
Anyone interested in the beginnings of the existential movement will want to explore Kierkegaard’s radical and comprehensive analysis of human nature. In this seminal text we see the origins of the existential movement in modern psychology, which has influenced a great number of social psychologists, cultural critics, and artists. Although Kierkegaard insisted that it was Christianity that was the sole cure for humanity’s anxiety and despair, his work continues to be widely taught in universities across the world, including countries where other faith traditions dominate.
