Søren Kierkegaard

Born in Copenhagen in 1813, Søren Kierkegaard became one of the most original religious and philosophical writers of the 19th century. He studied theology, but instead of building a conventional academic career, he wrote books that mixed philosophy, psychology, theology, and literary experiment in a voice unlike anyone else's.

Much of his writing circles around inwardness, responsibility, despair, and faith. He is especially known for works such as Either/Or, Fear and Trembling, Philosophical Fragments, and The Sickness Unto Death, many of them published under pseudonyms that let him explore different points of view. His broken engagement to Regine Olsen and his fierce arguments with the Danish Church also shaped both his life and his work.

Kierkegaard died in 1855 at the age of 42, but his influence only grew afterward. Readers have long returned to him for the way he turns big questions into urgent human ones: how to choose, how to become oneself, and how to live honestly before God and other people.