Søren Kierkegaard — Quote from Journals
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Journals (1843)
Concepts: meaning, absurd, agency
Resonant Quotes
- “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certain...” — Václav Havel, Disturbing the Peace Havel's hope grounded in meaning rather than outcomes provides the existential orientation needed to live forward des...
- “Living an experience, a particular fate, is accepting it fully. Now, no one w...” — Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus Both confront the paradox that authentic existence requires acting without ultimate rational justification—Camus by e...
- “There are only two things. Truth and lies. Truth is indivisible, hence it can...” — Franz Kafka, The Zuerau Aphorisms Kafka's paradox that truth cannot recognize itself because recognition requires the position of a lie perfectly paral...
- “A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the port...” — James Joyce, Ulysses Both quotes address the paradox of human action in temporal existence—Joyce's volitional errors that become discoveri...
- “A human being would certainly not grow to be seventy or eighty years old if t...” — Thomas Mann, The Magic Mountain Mann's notion that life's later stages hold unique significance resonates deeply with Kierkegaard's temporal paradox,...
- “What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your lonelies...” — Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science Nietzsche's eternal recurrence radicalizes Kierkegaard's temporal paradox by demanding we live forward with such inte...
- “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certain...” — Václav Havel, Disturbing the Peace Havel's hope perfectly complements Kierkegaard's paradox by providing the existential stance needed for living forwar...
- “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort o...” — Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science Both quotes grapple with the fundamental disorientation of human existence—Nietzsche confronting the loss of divine m...