Single Idea 7581

[catalogued under 23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 1. Existentialism]

Full Idea

Being an individual man is a thing that has been abolished, and every speculative philosopher confuses himself with humanity at large, whereby he becomes infinitely great - and at the same time nothing at all.

Gist of Idea

Speculative philosophy loses the individual in a vast vision of humanity

Source

Søren Kierkegaard (Concluding Unscientific Postscript [1846], 'Lessing')

Book Reference

Kierkegaard,Søren: 'A Kierkegaard Anthology', ed/tr. Bretall,Robert [Princeton 1946], p.206


A Reaction

Compare Idea 4840. This is a beautiful statement of the motivation for existentialism. The sort of philosophers who love mathematics (Plato, Descartes, Leibniz, Russell) love losing themselves in abstractions. This is the rebellion.

Related Idea

Idea 4840 Reason perceives things under a certain form of eternity [Spinoza]