The Sickness Unto Death: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of The Sickness Unto Death, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
Despair sickens the self
Kierkegaard, writing as Anti-Climacus, argues that despair is the deepest human sickness.
It is not just sadness but a failure to be the self we are meant to be. It touches everyone.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
The self is a relation
Kierkegaard describes the self as a relation that relates to itself, combining opposites like the finite and infinite, possibility and necessity.
Despair arises when these are out of balance. The self must be balanced.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Some despair without knowing it
Kierkegaard argues that many people are in despair without realising it.
They live comfortable lives but have never become fully themselves. Their calm hides a quiet failure to face themselves.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
Some refuse to be themselves
One form of despair is not wanting to be oneself, wishing to be someone else.
People in this despair try to escape their true self. They long to be other.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
Some insist on their own way
Another form of despair is defiantly wanting to be oneself on one's own terms, refusing any higher power.
Kierkegaard sees this as despair too. Pride becomes a trap that cuts the self off from its source.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Faith cures despair
Kierkegaard argues that the cure for despair is faith: resting transparently in the power that created the self, which he identifies with God.
Trust heals the divided self. Faith brings rest.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Sin is despair before God
Kierkegaard defines sin as despair before God: refusing to be oneself in relation to God.
Faith is the opposite of sin. This gives sin a new meaning. Faith is its opposite.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Despair can lead to growth
Kierkegaard suggests that recognising despair can be the first step towards healing.
Awareness of the sickness opens the way to faith. Facing despair honestly is a beginning, not an end.
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