Søren Kierkegaard — Quote from The Sickness Unto Death
“The most common form of despair is not being who you are.”
The Sickness Unto Death (1849)
Concepts: authenticity, mortality, meaning
Resonant Quotes
- “If I am what I have and if what I have is lost, who then am I?” — Erich Fromm, To Have or to Be? Kierkegaard's insight into despair as self-alienation perfectly complements Fromm's critique, as defining oneself thr...
- “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to ...” — Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Both philosophers identify self-betrayal as the fundamental spiritual crisis—whether through self-deception or failin...
- “I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument while the song I...” — Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali Tagore's endless preparation that prevents authentic expression perfectly embodies Kierkegaard's despair of not being...
- “Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity re...” — Rollo May, The Courage to Create Both suggest that authentic creation and authentic existence require the same fundamental act: bringing forth what is...
- “The human dilemma is that which arises out of a man's capacity to experience ...” — Rollo May, The Courage to Create May's subject-object split illuminates the existential foundation of Kierkegaard's despair—the painful self-awareness...
- “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Mother Night Vonnegut's warning about performative identity and Kierkegaard's diagnosis of despair as self-abandonment both illumi...
- “The only journey is the one within.” — Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet These quotes form a perfect philosophical dialogue about authentic selfhood—Rilke identifies inward exploration as th...
- “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Ju...” — Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus Kierkegaard's insight that despair comes from not being authentic provides a crucial foundation for Camus's question,...