Why You Hate The Modern World | Kierkegaard's The Present Age

Kierkegaard's "The Present Age" or "On The Present Age" is his attempt to make sense of the changing world of 19th century Denmark, and the dawn of what we would now call modernity. And In this brilliant piece Kierkegaard takes us through so many issues we now view as major and established - predicting them over 150 years ago. So here is his guide to why you hate the modern world.
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00:00 The Present Age
01:21 A Passionless Present
06:29 Information Overload
11:51 The Pitiless Public
16:27 Levelling and The Individual

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

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[@steveprogamerlol2758]

Do video about confucianism philosophy and mencius

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

have you done a piece on the pop culture book that followed in Kierkegard's footsteps : ALVIN TOFFLER - "FUTURE SHOCK" it still rings true today in some parts

[@dburton2765]

Hiya! Question...what do you think about Terrence Howard's math theory?

[@gauzelol6107]

Hi! Japanese audience here! Thank you so much for such a wonderful content! Kierkegaard is really a famous and loved philosopher in Japan as well! Hope you do more videos on existentialism!

[@superdupersnowflake]

Nerd

[@reddipo]

Everytime you acknowledge the flawed nature of your own biases I get a bit of faith in humanity back. Congratulations, great video as always.

[@alaalfa8839]

Swedish experts studied AI and found out the bias about humans is CREATED AND SPREAD BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE because AI is able to not just spread desinforamtion about humans, but also convince humans about its own truth 82 percent more than being convinced by real human. In 2026 the AI will write 90 ppercent of articles. So maybe it makes you think twice a bout what you just said...human intelligence is even more thruthful in good environment, than AI mambo jumbo nonsense.

[@meowy4720]

"every time" is two separate words

[@MrsBobMom]

@reddipo - Well said ❤

[@tedlogan4867]

Paradox of infinite possibilities. Inversely: less is more. We are aware of too much, we see too much, we are pressed to choose from too many options. Self limitation is a must, or we self-implode and cease to engage in any meaningful way.

[@chewxieyang4677]

Perhaps that means an omniscient being cannot functionally exist then, right?

[@tedlogan4867]

@@chewxieyang4677 that's a lot of words that are too ambiguously defined to mean anything of any utility in my estimation.

[@thenateshow4371]

​@@chewxieyang4677I feel like your onto something.

[@williamstephenson6387]

I'm 50 next week and I can't remember the last time I felt passionate about anything. Feel like work takes everything. Waiting for the weekend but feel like it's just there to rest up for next week.

[@2NDFLB-CLERK]

▪️ Yeah, It f***n' sucks... 🟥

[@MinorLife10]

I did not expect Kierkegaard's ideas about passion be so similar to my experience. Unlike depression, apathy does not rob you of energy. You can still do your tasks, but now... you do not even feel any reason to do so. Without reason, you lose ypur ming. But without passion, your soul dies.

[@rosemadder5547]

I've never related to anyone the way I can relate to Kierkegaard. Found "diary of Soren Kierkegaard" at 20, 17 years ago, and it changed my whole outlook. I still have parts memorized ❤

[@Cantread807]

It is a good thing though. You now have the agency to decide what is really important.

[@Dunge0n]

"Stuck in bed... Deep Crisis... I despise Life." -Nietzche

[@Dunge0n]

​@@Cantread807 Nothing. I hate people.

[@copyninja8756]

​@@Cantread807not necessarily how it works

[@rosemadder5547]

I love Kierkegaard. I found him 17 years ago at 20, an angry abused kid that had a hard life since i could remember. His book changed me and my outlook forever. Even as an atheist/agnostic. It translates.

[@lexingtonconcord8751]

Don't be an atheist

[@dallenpowell2745]

I've been wanting to read Kierkegaard. Which book do you recommend starting with?

[@user-ik4wh7xi4q]

@@dallenpowell2745read Either/Or. it’s great as a literary novel not just work of philosophy. Fear and Trembling is accessible if you have a Christian background or have read the Bible.

[@garyonderisin8338]

the notion, concept of the "pitiless public" is a "spot on" one, so true.

[@Here4TheHeckOfIt]

Individually, people are OK. But group dynamics can definitely devolve into the "pitiless public". The worst part is how people just walk away as if they didn't do anything wrong. Now, there are kids under 11 years of age who are killing themselves because they understand the horror of this.

[@datodato2630]

"Wake up babe, Unsolicited Advice uploaded‼️‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🥶🥶🥵🥵"

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

Haha! That's very kind!

[@jeffwhite2511]

Your passion in presenting this video is the only reason I'm still engaged in it after 5 minutes

[@soulwrekk]

"Passion is a double-edged blade, be careful with what you crave", or rather mindful of it. Loved the video, especially cause I can't find it in myself to 'commit' to long texts (even though i fully love words, ideas and discovering different ways of thought). Thank you for your "biased" presentations, they really help!

[@j0nnyism]

Yes addictions are as much a passion as the more productive ones

[@Toddy15]

Everytime I see Infotainment like this, I wonder about the disconnect, that people always complain about analyizing and similar stuff in school. "I'll never use this." When you actually could read and understand these books yourself If you would not disregard the tools school actually can give you

[@TheJoshestWhite]

Could you expand on that a bit?

[@voxsvoxs4261]

if I may elucidate the problem, people misunderstand the points of all parts of it: First people believe that a school is to provide an education and an education a job. Most people sincerely do not have the idea of school for the refinement of character. They are completely correct, when under this supposition, that this supposition is utterly encourgaged by schools from the beginning of the process to it's end (where there is always underlying question of 'what do you want to be after this'). Second the books which are often taught publicly (or by government, if you're English) are either not actually useful at all, or taught by English teachers who purposefully provide useless understandings of the work that they are meant to be teaching (likely by curriculum I admit, -edit_ and to void potential counterargument, the actual meaning can be denigrated by the presnce and imposition of a teacher, that a misconception taught is a greater problem than a naivety, seems to me more appropriate _edit-). That these create the misconception and discontent in it.

[@Toddy15]

@@TheJoshestWhite Well, as an example we read Kant in school. But almost everyone complained about it being useless. Since they will never talk about it after school and would never read it on their own. So why bother to learn reading texts like these in a way to break it down and get the main ideas and discuss them. So they disregard this skill. But when Somebody actually uses it, they are impressed. Like an anology would be, why bother learning to ride a bike, I will Always use a Car anyway. Then someone tells them they went on vacation with a bike and they will compliment them and would say "wow I would love to be able to do that myself, it seems so healthy and fun at the same time" Basically people hate school and think it is stupid. But when people apply skills from school, they are impressed.

[@Toddy15]

@@voxsvoxs4261 English isnt my native language, so I May misunderstand your comment but by stating that the books are not usefull at all, you also do Not seem to understand my point. It is not about the actual book or poem or whatever. It is about the skill to read, analyze and discuss a book, so that you can then go on and apply that skill on anything that interests you. And then I guess you were just unlucky with your teachers, If they suck on purpose. I noticed that most people (myself included) just Always thought they are smarter then their teachers so of course my understanding of a book is great and theirs is useless.

[@voxsvoxs4261]

@@Toddy15 that's fair, though I'd say again school didn't give me that skill: The curriculum schools have to teach provide a set of books to choose from and then those individual books have different themes that are also set that people have to write under for their assesment. So there is very little cultivating of independent analysis skills. For the teachers part, I thought it more that they'd apply rhetoric tricks to make weird conclusions, instead of doing actual analysis.

[@dolvita]

I'm so glad I found your channel! From someone who thinks a lot about philosophy but doesn't have friends that care as much 😂 thank you!

[@2x1_enthusiast]

i’ve thought about this a lot without reading what that guy said our society fights passion and instead convinces it’s people to stay focusing on the wrong solutions so that those with the power and knowledge of what’s really happening can stay protected by the system

[@douglashoover6473]

I once saw a TV biography of Kierkegaard that mentioned his opinion that modern communications would drive people mad. Something would happen at place A. It would immediately be reported in place B. People at B would react, perhaps angrily, and their reaction would be reported back at place A. The people of A would react to the reaction, even more angrily, and that reaction would be reported at B, ad infinitum. K imagined this with just the telegraph - with social media, it has come to full fruition. I would much appreciate a reference to whare Kierkegaard said this.

[@SrushtSyamand-qw9pz]

I haven't been able to listen to someone talk for a long time this is fixing my attention span ❤thank u.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

Truth! Still rings true nowadays, imagine how the kids born circa 2017 will be after the covid crisis they lived through in their formative social years...

[@davidstyles1654]

Dude that screwed me up. I dreed to think what it done to my daughter.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

@@davidstyles1654 i have so much compassion for all kids & parents... my niece and nephew lived through it at 1 and 3

[@Here4TheHeckOfIt]

​@@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914The age of one to three aren't very memorable to most people so your niece and nephew are most likely going to be OK. Ages four through ten...check in on them periodically 😂

[@Chronoflation]

Existential indecision is so real. Yeah, I feel that hard. I never related so hard to a video topic than this

[@silopante]

Wow, I wanted to write a comment asking for a video on Kierkegaard, but I guess you've read my mind

[@minedantaken1684]

I am literally making a game about this exact topic! I'm stuck in a shop, working every single day, seeing mostly the same bland faces with empty eyes, buying cigaretes and alcohol from the morning, till the lights are out. The game was supposed to be a shitpost born from me looking at the cameras and thinking "that's kinda like fnaf", but it evolved into a story about, at least mostly, my fear of being just a part of the homogenous monolith. In short, great video!

[@romankolarik3274]

where can i play it once its done

[@voiceofliberty]

Yeah where

[@minedantaken1684]

@@romankolarik3274 hopefuly steam, most probably gamejolt

[@aladescrie]

Do mention at least a working title here so we can scout for it in the soon-to-be future :)))))

[@minedantaken1684]

It's either gonna be on steam or gamejolt, not really sure yet. The working title is "dayshift at płazik". Probably gonna drop a teaser/trailer once it's nearly done!

[@amaramuller3340]

one of the best philosophy breakdowns i have ever heard

[@julianterris]

Kierkegaard has described our current age perfectly there, primarily because he imagined the sins of his own age being multiplied, and he was of course a genius, ahead of his time and absolutely right. He might not have imagined the technological tools we use (but I could well imagine that he might have dreamed about a "magic book"...) to multiply our comments, but he read the nature of our follies almost two centuries ago. We must commit that is the essential folly of this age of narcissism, in committing to ourselves, we fail to commit to life, which has only one question "What are you doing for others?" If you're not meeting resistance, you're going the wrong way. Most people will choose remote control over adventure. It's more dangerous than base-jumping. 💯

[@gotredeemed]

A moment of inspiration is a gift which must be seized!

[@user-cc9vz3ud9e]

Your enunciation is spectacular. Thank you.

[@griftertea7]

I am the passive observer. This completely encapsulates my life.

[@ThatBalkanGuy.]

0:07 Yes I actually tought about this just before I clicked on the video

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

Ah! I hope you are okay!

[@unrealnews]

I say this because I'd like to remember it. I leave it here on the off chance it sets off pleasant and/or useful sparks in someone else. The exponential increase in the availability of information of all kinds leads to an indecisiveness coupled with a knowledge that something -- anything must be done. These are the makings of anxiety. In the right sets of hands, this may lead to the generation of technology and techniques that ease the suffering caused by the exponential increase. The solutions are known by one or both of the following results: 1. The being in question may flit from idea to idea, never settling on anything of primary importance, but this is mapped directly onto the structure of the world and yields happiness, contentment, joy, etc. 2. Half baked ideas are taken through the laborious process needed to midwife them into the world without the need for humans to operate as amanuensis to their own creativity. Note that in both cases, faith is placed in "the future" or "the. unconscious movements of the world soul towards a greater good" or something similar.

[@ChocolateMilkCultLeader]

Excited to see this. Kierkegaard is my favorite and you're one of the best KZbinrs out there

[@dinosaur9406]

Perfect timing, this literally what I was thinking about in the past few days.

[@garyonderisin8338]

thanks, unsolicited advice, for this helpful, timely commentary.

[@geoff1391]

Great video. Thank you for posting.

[@JamesStarrLennox]

What a great video, super easy to understand and entertaining! 👌 Can't wait to see the next ones. 👏

[@schnitzelfilmmaker1130]

I love Kierkegaard’s mind

[@pierrelabounty9917]

I listen to this several times. I studied him years ago. This is relevant now. Much more anyway .

[@eerrriiillllll]

finally someone answered the question that always filled my head

[@pierrelabounty9917]

I really appreciate his teaching on these pholisophers that are relevant to us. 😊

[@ElligKulugShadMaghaIsbaraKagan]

Bro I was just reading about Kierkegaard today and you uploaded this video A happy coincidence😇

[@fideldisalvo]

Absolutely amazing video

[@Asankeket]

Wow. Just wow. I never engaged with Kierkegaard because he promotes religious faith as a solution and I feel strongly - you might even say passionately - about that being dangerous. But this essay just echoes so much of what I've been struggling with - how to be a (reasonably) autonomous individual in the modern age of crowds and identity groups, the need to keep your own counsel as an individual, and the need for a commitment to truth (even and especially where it appears to clash with faith or justice), against that overwhelming pressure of the public or any group that might wield collective power if need be. I have to read that essay for myself. Many thanks of pointing me to it.

[@vidyamoni5018]

Thank you for helping me find meaning in philosophy and life through your videos. ❤

[@heinrichkatz6208]

Just found your channel. love at first sight! Differentiated views, complex ideas made simple and for me as a mint guy the perfect level of depth for a first Overview.❤

[@fulviobennato]

Thanks so much that was real eye opening

[@user-ob8pm9yh2s]

brother i luv ur work keep it up i didn't felt so much comfortable in recent times until i found ur channel

[@curtissjamesd]

Great discussion of the ideas, I for one revel in learning without a goal beyond changing my understanding about many things comfortable in the idea that I will never be an expert on any subject.

[@aforabe1197]

Hey dude, I always appreciate the content, but I wanted to compliment your look for this video. Looking sharp my guy!

[@mortymcfry7944]

Thank you for this video friend

[@mattolivier1835]

Thanks philosophy nerd. We love your videos.

[@OrdnanceLab]

As always, great video.

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

Thank you! I am glad you liked it!

[@JayDylanHistory]

>Released 8 minutes ago >Video is 23:48 You time travelled?

[@davidcunningham2074]

excellent video. kierkegarden is arguably the best philosopher of the lot.

[@gavinhennigan3083]

Another great video and interpretation of the Dane himself, I'm stupefied every time with Nietzsche and Kierkegaard parallelism. Grow your mustache again, I loved it.

[@letsgotothemalltodayyy]

The flawed nature of your basis is amazing!

[@neilspires7259]

This is so awesome, thank you.

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

Thank you for watching!

[@ashleynagawa5807]

I love your videos so much. Thank you for all you do

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

Thank you for watching them!

[@BushWookie43]

Another outstanding vid, been watching for I think a month now and it’s been great, usually watching while havin dinner or during que in games. Reminds me of Joe Rogan a lil bit mini learning sessions, gotta love it👌

[@dante1875]

Great video! Keep it up!

[@user-cs9ms9bl9d]

Well done!

[@buffysnart]

The new mic is so fire lets go man

[@chainsaw7638]

You're good at explaining

[@kevinsayes]

It may be out of your usual wheelhouse, perhaps not, but I’d love to hear your take on Lao Tzu/taoism broadly and where it can fit in our modern lives. Love love love the channel man, hell of a job as always

[@waxedhands4199]

Great Video 🤙

[@ultraparadoxical7610]

Very interesting!

[@danny_mtnz]

Joe described my life so far within the first 7 min of the vid

[@rrrryiah]

Love this dude

[@KathrynGagnon-lj1di]

Amazing 😊

[@Jjhhhjjj820]

Loved It!!!🥰

[@zhillan_arf]

You are painful to watch, as in the dense truths in your words always mercilessly pierce my skin and my heart. Great work.

[@LuminousKugelblitz]

I wish one day I'll be able to talk like you , with clarity ,with confidence.

[@edwardprice140]

Thanks for quoting Saint Benedict...................and so much more.

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

@16:08 - the dangers of "the public"... the death of individuality yeah :it segues together well, with your next point René Girard ! MEMEtics. Being part of the gen-X of the early 1980s, the episode or book of Sesame Streets about starting a collection made me literally addicted to collecting what brings me happiness as passions / hobbies go. Culture, art, geekdom... video games, choose your own adventure books, Takara Battle Beast figurines... I got back to collecting them after serlling or giving away these 3 collections in my youth... only the LONE WOLF book series and Suikoden 1 & 2 survived those purges. (ironically i discoverd also a lone takara batle beast followed me through life until my late 30s : the duck with a single arm, wearing a blue armor with a small red tag. As a canadian from Quebec this seems to have a weird symbolism :P ) I am a child of the "collector age"... retro gamer... nerd. What young people would call a "boomer", as you would deduce as you read my wall of text.

[@thesunshinemanmusic]

Well done! Subscribed. 🎸😎👍

[@philosophy_of_nowhere]

I think you could do a really cool video on cosmicism. Also, you are my biggest inspiration for getting into philosophy, and it's really helped in my life.

[@maximus7616]

bruh i love this dude

[@mzmz7375]

Great video bruv

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

Thank you!

[@jockamofeno7632]

I feel it pressing me definitley

[@alineharam]

I share these videos with friends for their betterment. From California.

[@jamesstaggs4160]

"Too much information may be a bad thing." It can either cause us to shut down as the volume of it has us attempting to assimilate it all within a short time period. It can also have us going down one narrow path trying to consume every bit of information related to it, which can have us ignore everything else. We may know ever obscure detail of some equally obscure subject but lose out on any general, useful knowledge. Autism is often an example of tok much information as the senses take in too much to process in something like a chaotic social situation causing someone to freeze up. What most people block out or process with the unconscious mind the autistic person may try to comprehend the meaning of all the social cues of everyone within their field of vision rather than just the few involved in the immediate conversation.

[@rimfire8217]

The segment on the Commitment Addict hit me really hard. Cause that's just me to a T

[@kubhlaikhan2015]

I didn't underatand Kierkegaard until I found myself hanging from the side of a mountain unable to climb or descend as the weather closed in and night fell.

[@MrPatrickslovell]

Outstanding analysis!

[@xylonus]

That's why being an absurdist is relieving. A man with indiferrence to society's views and perceptions to level ourselves as worthy of little praises. Do the things he wants and being passionate about without religious political philosophical pressures feels liberating. Though we still fall to the pit of wanting of validation and acknowledgement and a true absurd hero probably doesnt exist

[@stage274]

Passionless envy! Nailed it.

[@ChocolateMilkCultLeader]

You should do Wittgenstein. "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent" is a mic drop if I've heard one

[@HenryThree]

I am a huge advocate for subtitles, and I appreciate you including them since the KZbin generated ones are often rather spotty. However, the highlighting of each word as it's spoken is distracting and should be reserved for karaoke.

[@TheAl2kas]

It is all extremely relevant, i think.

[@iulia1690]

Very true

[@MichaelPiz]

This relates to the modern concepts, the Overton Window and Tall Poppy Syndrome.

[@petdoiseauR.H.]

Merci

[@lux3546]

Looking forward to see this guy start his first podcast🤞🙌

[@3zzzTyle]

PRESENT DAY, PRESENT TIME

[@andrejg3086]

It seems to me that the sound quality is better in this video than in the previous ones (the sound was fine in the previous ones too).

[@unsolicitedadvice9198]

Ah thank you! I’m doing little adjustments with the mic placement to figure out what works best

[@manubishe]

Who would have thought a philosophy channel would catch

[@througtonsheirs_doctorwhol5914]

have you done a piece on the pop culture book that followed in Kierkegard's footsteps : ALVIN TOFFLER - "FUTURE SHOCK" it still rings true today in some parts

[@chaitai2533]

Great contribution! I think this would benefit from a bit slower pace and some breaks in between, - especially when the video is about "information overflow"

[@Ana_MF]

If we join the crowd we end up unhappy by losing our individuality but f we embraced too much our own individuality we may also end up unhappy being ostracized by the rest of society. As it seems we may end up regretting both, guess we can only balance in between in somekind of acrobatic act to avoid unhapiness. A video on Debord and the society of the spectacle would be interesting. Thanks for this one! I love Kierkegaard. He lives happy with Regina in my mind.

[@alena-qu9vj]

There is one easy solution to your problem - you just need to redefine "happiness".

[@Ana_MF]

@@alena-qu9vj Yeah, maybe that's a solution... I wouldn't qualify it as easy though.

[@alena-qu9vj]

@@Ana_MF Well, it is easier said than done for sure :)

[@iainmc9859]

I love the images of 'Old Masters' that pop up to break up the visuals. No idea how they directly relate to what is being said at that moment though. Better than AI images of smeary paintwork I guess.

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

It definitely seems I must study Kierkagard further. I see all this every day around me, but leaves me untethered. It might lead me to Zen Buddhism or some other esoteric thought line seeking the desired passion. Kierkegard seems not to deal with proportions but looseness of being.

[@littlecloud982]

How can i be like you? I am so interested in philosophy and psychology, but all i can do is just observe someone else talking about it. You, on the other hand, see it. Without you i could not. I fear the knowledge i can't have

[@neurophilosophers994]

The most important thing to do is be a positive force on memesis and take intellectual responsibility to think for yourself. Almost nobody can do these in modern times.

[@PinoSantilli-hp5qq]

I just handle listing to this guy...sorry is voice and everything else.

[@ninpolife7749]

Glad i got in to martial arts in highschool.

[@kevinscales]

The subtitles are incredibly distracting (and the editing to a lesser extent). I had to turn on KZbins subtitles and place them on top to cover them up. Edit: Passionless and uncommitted, that describes me pretty well. I go back and forth between over committing to too many things, failing and becoming depressed and avoiding commitment completely, but more and more I just avoid it because depression REALLY sucks, but it is replaced by a slower burning kind of depression.