Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
A work of the 19th century philosopher Kierkegaard, the book is a collection of papers from two impersonated figures: “A”, an aesthete whose worldview centers on the artistic, poetic, and interesting; and “B”, an ethical judge who offers critiques on A and also presents a viewpoint centered on seeing the world in ethical terms of good and bad. By far the more interesting part of the book is A’s section (B’s section is long-winded but has some interesting points), and within A’s section Kierkegaard shares the aesthete’s thoughts on art, drama, sorrow, unhappiness, boredom, all presented with a rather unhealthy but entertaining dose of dark romanticism. I especially liked a section of aphorisms called “Diapsalmata” where the existential Kierkegaard flexes his incisive philosophical acumen, as well as the deeply provocative section called “The Seducer’s Diary” where Kierkegaard explores a Machiavellian yet poetic love. The work is 800 pages full is dense material and obscure references, but it’s deeply influenced my thought after my spending time with it.
One point that made me think was the aesthetic life that Kierkegaard describes is the opposite of the hedonistic that you might expect. The aesthete practices epicurean restraint and discipline of the mind, becoming not a blind devourer of pleasure but a detached and patient connoisseur. You can see this best in The Seducer’s Diary where much of the time the pseudonymous author of the diary Johannes simply observes Cordelia, the object of his obsession, and finds beauty in her every move; it is in a way pure love without any tinge of vulgarity. I’m very fond of this idea of the aesthete, since although the aesthete may face existential despair and meaninglessness (a point that Kierkegaard makes in B’s section), he finds solace in having amusement and the knowledge of how to sustain amusements.
% grep -i "either/or" quotes.txt11 matches
on love
“All love is secretive, even the faithless kind, if it has the appropriate aesthetic element within it”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on love
“To love is beautiful only as long as resistance is present; as soon as it ceases, to love is weakness and habit”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on beauty
“All opposition enhances a person’s beauty”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on aesthetic recollection
“Recollection is a means not only for conserving but also of augmenting; something that is permeated by recollection has a double effect”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on busyness
“The most ludicrous of all ludicrous things, it seems to me, is to be busy in the world… What, after all, do these busy bustlers achieve? Are they not just like the woman who, in a flurry because the house was on fire, rescued the fire tongs? What more, after all, do they salvage from life’s huge conflagration?”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on diversion
“The most insignificant thing can accidentally become a rich material for amusement”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on fortune
“Alas, fortune’s door does not open inward so that one can push it open by rushing at it; but it opens outward, and therefore one can do nothing about it”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on depression
“My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known – no wonder, then, that I return the love”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on despair
“Whatever you may think of life and its task, you will still be too chivalrous of mind about yourself to choose a career for that reason, for there is still the same falseness here as in marrying for that reason. What, then, is there to do? I have only one answer: Despair, then!”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on life’s meaning
“I saw the meaning of life was to make a living, its goal to become a councillor, that the rich delight of love was to acquire a well-to-do girl, that the blessedness of friendship was to help each other in financial difficulties, that wisdom was whatever the majority assumed it to be, that enthusiasm was to give a speech, that courage was to risk being fined ten dollars, that cordiality was to say ‘may it do you good’ after a meal, that piety was to go to communion once a year. This I saw, and I laughed”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or
on philosophy
“What philosophers say about actuality is often just as disappointing as it is when one reads on a sign in a secondhand shop: “Pressing Done Here”. If a person were to bring his clothes to be pressed, he would be duped, for the sign is merely for sale”
— Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or