Kierkegaardov prilog razmatranju egzistencije: od negiranja drugog do težnje za Drugim

In this paper, we will present the specific and pioneering brand of existentialism developed by Søren Kierkegaard, an immensely influential European thinker who ushered in a whole new era of philosophy. We will analyze his view of the problem of existence and, more specifically, the self as to how an individual must first become separated from others (the masses or the public), to then become a new person through faith in God, the key Other that makes one’s whole life appear as new. Kierkegaard’s influence on the further development of philosophy is almost beyond comparison, as is apparent first and foremost in existentialism and its various versions developed in the 20th century, and through these developments, it has shaped the course of philosophical thought extending far beyond the borders of Europe. In his view, the life of a human individual is tightly bound up with the relation towards the other. This requires, on the one hand, a certain denial of the other qua the others and, on the other hand, an all-encompassing turning towards and acceptance of the Other, i.e. God (as the highest degree of human accomplishment cannot be achieved without this recognition of God as the Other with the initial capital).