Søren Kierkegaard

The Danish theologian and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was born on May 5 in Copenhagen. He was the youngest child of a large family, but he and his older brother were the only children to survive. His father, who was 56 when discussion of them within the context of philosophy and without appeal to religious faith or revelation.

In reading Schopenhauer, suicide as an escape from human misery comes to mind. Most individuals resist such an adjustment, however, because it is diametrically opposed to the will to survive. This is why, according to Schopenhauer, that a person suffering from a painful, terminal disease finds it very difficult to take his or her life, even when this might be the rational thing to do. Furthermore, Schopenhauer believed that a major goal for humans is to gain insight into their existence. For Schopenhauer, the essence of human existence was the relationship between the noumenal (the powerful, aimless will) and the phenomenal (consciousness). As we have seen, this relationship causes an unending cycle of need and need satisfaction. However, for Schopenhauer the proper adjustment to this tragic condition is to struggle to rise above it or, at least, to minimize it. Suicide evades this noble effort and is, therefore, according to Schopenhauer, a mistake.