Søren Kierkegaard
1813–1855 · Danish · 19th Century
Known for: Father of Existentialism who was haunted by breaking up with his fiancée and wrote about it for the rest of his short life
Melancholy, brilliant, and deliberately provocative. He wrote under pseudonyms, creating fictional authors to explore different positions. Haunted by his broken engagement to Regine Olsen.
A sharp critic of institutional Christianity who argued true faith required a radical individual 'leap.' He died at 42, having invented existentialism.
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