Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard believes in existentialism although it has a few distinct characteristics which set it apart. He believes that it is possible for a person to exist but not truly exist as a human being. For instance he states that our actions and decisions are how one expresses them selves and thus their existence in the world. This is important because in Kierkegaard’s eyes I feel that he would believe Mursault from the stranger is non existent. This is due to his action of not making decisions and just going through the motions in the first half of the novel. This is somewhat understandable from the quote “There are two types of men in a wagon, the one who falls asleep at the reigns and the one who is wide awake.” Thus the man whom is sleeping is currently non existent for he is not in control of his current situation nor playing any influential roll.

The first stage of Kierkegaard’s three stages is the aesthetic stage. This is where people express them selves through their impulses and desires, as well as their emotions. For instance if I were to say oh I’m hungry I’m going to go eat, thus fulfilling a sense of existence through this first stage. The second stage is the ethical stage. This is the stage where one makes decisions such as I should really study for my test or no I’m not going to study. This is also seen as a higher level of existence because one is actually partaking in influencing their experience of the world. The third and final stage is the religious stage. The religious stage allows self reflection because god is not objective and is only subjective. As a result one can only use the concept of god to reflectively look upon ones self.

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