Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening

By Søren Kierkegaard and Soren Kierkegaard

Book Overview

A companion piece to The Concept of Anxiety, this work continues S ren Kierkegaard's radical and comprehensive analysis of human nature in a spectrum of possibilities of existence. Present here is a remarkable combination of the insight of the poet and the contemplation of the philosopher.

In The Sickness unto Death, Kierkegaard moves beyond anxiety on the mental-emotional level to the spiritual level, where--in contact with the eternal--anxiety becomes despair. Both anxiety and despair reflect the misrelation that arises in the self when the elements of the synthesis--the infinite and the finite--do not come into proper relation to each other. Despair is a deeper expression for anxiety and is a mark of the eternal, which is intended to penetrate temporal existence.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0691020280
• ISBN13: 9780691020280
• Release Date: November 1983
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Sickness unto Death

The universal ethical truth, seeing others in their true light or darkness, and true faith, (not the modern version of faith) is what you will get from this read. One will come away from this extraordinary book with a realization that there is a universal truth and that the only way to fully grasp it is to put oneself totally in Gods hands, and realize that it is he not we who are in control. This book will bring about inter contemplation and seeking which will strengthen ones ability to help find ones true self. In doing so it will help you shread any vestiage of the modern faith which is devoid of seeking truth. If you want an affirmation of your true inter-self to surface then I highly recomend this book.

A transparent translation

With the many words of review of Kierkegaard, I thought a few should be written in honor of the Hongs, who have render such clear translations. Some of the difficulties of understanding SK are not because of his writing style or the nature of the concepts he was communicating, but less than poetic translations of his work. The Hongs have remedied that, so now we merely have to contend with what SK had to say. I for one am grateful for their contribution.

Getting a life

In sum, Kierkegaard shows that despair is the inability to live with oneself. We all experience depression, disappointment, and anxiety rooted in the identities we strive to establish apart from the one we were meant to have in God. Therefore, there is no greater truth to eradicate despair than this: that God has made us for relationship with Himself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Him. Only when a person relies on his perfect relationship with God, and not his imperfect relationship with his parents, his society, his friends, as the sole criterion for the worth of his soul will he find rest from despair.

Profound insight into the nature of sin

I am not a philosopher or even a literary person by any stretch, but I found this book surprisingly accessible. I believe it is essential reading for anyone dealing with despair (depression) in their lives- especially Christians. The jewel that I was able garner from this book is that faith, fundamentally, is forgoing our common senses and putting our hope in God even when all our senses and previous experiences tell us otherwise. Because with God, everything is possible.