Concept of Anxiety Kierkegaard
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. Introduction
In The Concept of Anxiety, S�ren Kierkegaard deals with human anxiety about the possibility posed by freedom as it relates to sinfulness and spiritual progress. This paper will show that Kierkegaard?s concept of the moment and his prescription for inwardness, both in the context of spirituality, are connected. Importantly, inwardness depends on the moment and the possibility of transition that does not take place in time, transition that seems sudden if spotted from a temporal perspective. First, this paper will make sense of Kierkegaard?s concepts of time, eternity, and the moment, which will be an interpretation taken from his discussion at the first part of chapter three. Second, it will explain what his concept of inwardness is and what it means for human life, which will be based on text from chapter four, section two, subsection two (?Freedom Lost Pneumatically?). Finally, it will use those points to explain the connection between the moment and inwardness and then point out the importance of that connection.Born 5 May 1813, Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was the seventh and youngest child of Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard. Sørens father, Michael, was retired at the time of his sons birth, having achieved a relatively comfortable position in his community. Michael had risen from serfdom to the new merchant class of Europe. Michael had been a shepherd, with little in the way of possessions.
Michaels success came from his work as a wool trader. Having been a shepherd, he had a keen understanding of wool, which he parlayed into success as an exporter. He amassed a fortune quickly, something he considered proof he was cursed a theme running throughout his life and that of his children. However, Michael did want to use his wealth for good causes, and his family. As part of this new middle class, Michael wanted his sons to attend universities and prove even more successful.
His Mother, the Maid
Kierkegaards mother was Michaels second wife, a former maid to the family. This second marriage took a great toll on the religious Michael. He had consumated the relationship with his maid shortly after his first wife died. He believed this act of “weakness” further angered God and increased the punishments he and the Kierkegaard family would experience. Michael never forgave himself — or his second wife — for the transgression.
Michael dominated his wife, treating her like the servant she had been. Michael also dominated his children, as if they existed to serve him. The elder Kierkegaard was a devout Lutheran who valued order and self-discipline above other values. He punished himself and those around him for his sins, believing all he did was held against his familys name.
Michael Kierkegaard was not emotionally stable. Though Søren did not originally know why, his father was certain there was a curse upon the family. Michaels religious devotion increased with each year, as he tried to combat the curse against the Kierkegaard name with faith. Søren was certain the curse was a figment of his fathers imagination; Kierkegaard even wrote of his fathers “insanity” infecting the family. Michaels certainty of a curse was reinforced by the deaths of