Either/Or summary

Born into a wealthy family in Copenhagen in 1813, by the age of just 25 Kierkegaard had lost six of his seven siblings, as well as both parents – leaving him nearly alone in the world. This early and intense confrontation with death shaped his outlook profoundly. He was drawn to deep introspection, theology, and philosophy from the start, but his experience of loss came to dominate his point of view

In his grief, he came to view the comfortable bourgeois, Christian, middle-class life around him as an illusion – one that distracted people from the deeper meaning of existence. He saw clearly that death awaited everyone, that it could come at any time. Perhaps it was this looming sense of mortality that drove him to work constantly

Obsessed with mortality, Kierkegaard devoted himself to writing. Between 1843 and 1855, he published over 20 books articulating his philosophy and critique of modern life. Alongside this outsized philosophical production, he was an avid journal writer and they provide considerable insight into his philosophical investigations.

His first major work is Either/Or, which appeared in 1843. Here, Kierkegaard explored the idea of aesthetic and ethical ways of life in a creative way through a fictional collection of letters. This was followed just a year later by his seminal Philosophical Fragments. In 1846 came the influential Concluding Unscientific Postscript, which expanded on existentialist notions of truth and subjectivity.

Works like these argued that superficial religious faith allows people to live inauthentic lives conforming to societal norms. True fulfillment requires facing life's hard truths – the chaos, suffering, and absurdity of the human condition – and making radical choices to live with passion and purpose.

Kierkegaard rejected abstract theologizing and philosophy. He used literary techniques to emphasize subjective viewpoints and to make readers confront the uncertainty of real life. His focus on individual choice and responsibility in finding meaning laid the groundwork for existentialism.

But Kierkegaard took existential angst far beyond his successors. He saw the absurdity of an indifferent universe in the face of human desires for order and purpose. For him, only embracing this absurdity allowed authentic religious faith – a paradoxical belief at first glance. But it was the simple gospel teachings of his father when he was a child from which Soren found comfort, not the organized church.

The next sections will explore some key themes of Either/Or more deeply. By doing so, we’ll unwrap the aesthetic and ethical lifestyles Kierkegaard contrasts, his views on choice and anxiety, the philosophical legacy of his ideas, and their continuing resonance today.