Kierkegaard

This introduction to the writings of Søren Kierkegaard is for anyone who has felt daunted by the prospect of reading and understanding the work of one of the most important yet elusive 19th century thinkers. Kierkegaard scholar M. Jamie Ferreira sets out to make the Danish philosopher’s work accessible with a unique and innovative “how to” approach, guiding readers through his works and showing how he thought, rather than simply what he thought.

Kierkegaard is the first detailed introduction to his entire body of work, illustrating how literary, philosophical, theological, and psychological influences coincide in both the religious and pseudonymous (philosophical) works. Ferreira highlights the literary strategies Kierkegaard employed to awaken and challenge the reader and observes that the two very different arcs of his writing are nevertheless inexorably intertwined, rather than merely parallel, exerting a dramatic and dynamic influence on one other.

The result is an extraordinary text, suitable for accompanying the new reader of the primary works but with many things to offer those returning to them.