Kierkegaard's Either/Or - Do we only have two choices in life?

[@moritzkrohn6908]

Love your content, but I hugely disagree on Kierkegaard having avoided marriage to keep his romantic options open. Far from it! He loved this woman beyond belief, took on a vow of celibacy for her and actually considered himself spiritually married to Regine, leaving her all his belongings (including his mansion, which she refused to take) after he died. Apart from meeting people on his walks, he was a loner and a melancholic and devoted himself entirely to his thinking and writing, for which he needed solitude and not a wife to deal with.

[@moritzkrohn6908]

Illustrating my point, please consider this quote of his: "I cannot quite place her impact on me in a purely erotic sense. It is true that the fact that she yielded almost adoringly to me, pleaded with me to love her, had so touched me that I would have risked everything for her. But the fact that I always wanted to hide from myself the degree to which she touched me is also evidence of the extent to which I loved her… Had I not been a penitent, had my vita ante acta not been melancholic, marriage to her would have made me happy beyond my dreams. But even I, being the person I unfortunately am, had to say that without her I could be happier in my unhappiness than with her - she had touched me deeply, and I would so much, ever so much, have done everything."

[@moritzkrohn6908]

One could also say he had an "avoidant" attachment style and couldn't tolerate the intimacy of a "real" relationship. In his book "Repetition" he explains his love to her and how it ultimately - if consummated - would have made both of them unhappy, but not for a lack of love but due to his dreamy and melancholic disposition and her - of course - wanting and deserving a "real" relationship which he couldn't provide.

[@someromantic754]

Yeah agreed

[@recuerdos2457]

Does it mean either way, he didn’t love her enough to marry her?! So, whatever reason it was does not really matter, doesn’t it??

[@FavianShields]

Yeah I was pretty surprised to hear that. Kierkegaard was very much in love but felt called to celibacy.

[@Trifixion22]

Coming from a Christian perspective here: I come from a more traditional school of theological thought based about reasoning and the importance of it. But I also love Kirkegaard for just coming out guns blazing and giving both middle fingers to the enlightenment world saying "I choose faith over your precious reason". Brilliant man. He understood the hellish blackness of life just as well as Schopenhauer and Nietzsche but doesn't get as much credit.

[@Neymarisco123]

Where did you get the idea that Kierkegaard was conflicted about monogamy? He famously wrote that the reason why he broke off his engagement was because there existed ”something spectral about me, something no one can endure who has to see me every day and have a real relationship with me" That sounds more like insecurity than anything else. On his fiancée’s wikipedia page, it’s also stated that Kierkegaard believed god was calling him to celibacy. None of these things make it sound like he was some player who didn’t want to get tied down.

[@isaacisaac1130]

I am reading this book right now, and for such huge and complicated work this was very shallow video tbh, almost as if he didn't bother to read it.

[@moritzkrohn6908]

Exactly! However, from reading his biography ("Philosopher of the Heart") and "Repetition", I wouldn't say it was insecurity, either. More like he wanted to be alone with his "melancholia" and his thoughts and writing and not have to bother with the needs and emotions of another person.

[@Sachie465]

I can relate to the idea that both aesthetic life and ethical life leads to despair, and despair means being in a wrong relation to oneself.

[@sudarshanbadoni6643]

Any relationship that gives us a feeling of unharming as exemplary confidence is great thing even being UNCONDITIONAL is a true one. Also either this way or that way is a good approach and not both swinging in life. Thanks.

[@seyproductions]

My problem with the moral life (and why I chose the aesthetic life) is that I see no reward in it. There is nothing to gain from it. In my opinion, the best way to take care of others, is to teach them to take care of themselves. For that, I need to learn to take care of myself first. If everyone could take care of themselves by themselves, the world will be a better place.

[@perthsaha7464]

A huge insight i might say.

[@jasonrose6288]

Excellent summary. Magnificent artworks, too.

[@chrissearer1896]

Happy Holidays!🎉🎉🎉

[@CBbehereNOW]

Really appreciate your channel. You are wonderful! Started with Hesse and 3 later, I'm here. Many thanks 🙏

[@pedroviaud1119]

Wether we want it or not, no matter how much we avoid it, life is a definition that we personally make, we define ourselves if we find pleasure in discovering truth, love , commitment, justice or in just pleasure with no responsibilities, that’s why there is only heaven and hell as eternal choice

[@90s_child]

Please make a video on Virginia Woolf

[@Whatever_Happy_People]

Hullo I just finished reading a hero of our time that you mention d in a previous video I enjoy d it thankyou.

[@googleg5877]

Instant pleasure are short lived ... relations should be slow and steady !!!

[@skatharaki]

Saying Byron came to Greece for the weather is... certainly a choice

[@user-qh4uv5dz7i]

How can it be considered choosing the moral path if it means he bypassed marriage all together?

[@benjiang9789]

Could you set up WeChat Pay and Alipay for donations? Thanks.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thanks for suggesting but I don’t have a Chinese bank account. I think Kofi page (PayPal) is the best way to donate.

[@recuerdos2457]

Be careful the CCP..

[@atthis6340]

Before talking about Nordic People’s pragmatism and rationalism look up world drinking statistics, we drink alot (speaking as a dane)

[@Fiction_Beast]

Two or more generations before you did all the hard work to create societies the world is envious of, at least from a distance. Now you can afford to top the drinking chart because the infrastructure is already built by that Protestant work ethics.

[@ryan.1990]

Whet a square

[@cmc1517]

I have never seen anyone interpret Kierkegaard so wrong before

[@mistermanuel2334]

can you explain why

[@Eudaimonia88]

It would be so nice to click on a KZbin video and hear someone speak who doesn’t struggle with the English language. It's so tiring to listen to someone who can't pronounce words in English and mumbles his way through 14 minutes of narration. Furthermore, there are factual errors in this video. I don’t recommend this upload as a learning tool. 👎

[@bonggojbihonggo991]

👌👌 🇧🇩

[@MyBeautifulDarkTwistedFantasy6]

Shoutout to Elliott Smith for introducing me to this guy fr fr