Single Idea 22096

[catalogued under 23. Ethics / F. Existentialism / 3. Angst]

Full Idea

For Kierkegaard anxiety is not simply a mood or an emotion that certain people experience at certain times, but a basic response to freedom that is part of the human condition.

Gist of Idea

Anxiety is not a passing mood, but a response to human freedom

Source

report of Søren Kierkegaard (The Concept of Dread (/Anxiety) [1844]) by Clare Carlisle - Kierkegaard: a guide for the perplexed 5

Book Reference

Carlisle,Clare: 'Kierkegaard: guide for the perplexed' [Continuum 2006], p.97


A Reaction

Outside of Christianity, this may be Kierkegaard's most influential idea - since existential individualism is floating around in the romantic movement. But the Byronic hero experiences a sort of anxiety. If you can't face anxiety, become a monk or nun.