Book description
One of the most remarkable philosophical works of the nineteenth
century, The Sickness Unto Death is also famed for the depth and acuity
of its modern psychological insights. Writing under the pseudonym
Anti-Climacus, Kierkegaard explores the concept of 'despair', alerting
readers to the diversity of ways in which they may be described as
living in this state of bleak abandonment - including some that may seem
just the opposite - and offering a much-discussed formula for the
eradication of despair. With its penetrating account of the self, this
late work by Kierkegaard was hugely influential upon twentieth-century
philosophers including Karl Jaspers, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus.
The Sickness unto Death can be regarded as one of the key works of
theistic existentialist thought - a brilliant and revelatory answer to
one man's struggle to fill the spiritual void.
Kierkegaard (1813-55) was born in Copenhagen, the youngest of seven
children. His childhood was unhappy, clouded by the religious fervour
of his father, and the death of his mother, his sisters and two
brothers. Educated at the School of Civic Virtue, he went on study
theology, liberal arts and science at university, gaining a reputation
for his academic brilliance and extravagant social life. He began to
criticize Christianity, and in 1841 broke off his engagement to
concentrate on his writing. Over the next ten years he produced a
flood of works, in particular twelve major philosophical essays, many
written under noms de plume. By the end of his life he had become an
object of public ridicule, but he is now enjoying increasing acclaim.
Alastair Hannay was educated at the Edinburgh Academy, the
University of Edinburgh and University College London. In 1961 he
became a resident of Norway and is now Emeritus Professor of
Philosophy at the University of Oslo.
