The term "present age" is a concept in the

philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard The philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard has been a major influence in the development of 20th-century philosophy, especially existentialism and postmodernism. Søren Kierkegaard was a 19th-century Danish philosopher who has been labeled by many as ...

. A formulation of the modern age can be found in Kierkegaard's work '' Two Ages: A Literary Review'':

Overview

Kierkegaard argues the present age drains the meaning out of

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

concepts through passionless indolence. The concepts are still used, but are drained of all meaning by virtue of their detachment from a life view which is passion-generated and produces consistent action. Kierkegaard published this book in 1846 just after the Corsair Affair in which he was attacked by the press. He attacks not only the Press but the Public it serves in this book. He is against abstract moments in time or public opinion as a basis for forming relationships. He wrote about the single individual in his ''

Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses The ''Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses'' ( da, Opbyggelige Taler), sometimes called the ''Eighteen Edifying Discourses'', is a collection of discourses produced by Søren Kierkegaard during the years of 1843 and 1844. Although he published some of h ...

'' and kept to that category here. Newspapers were mediating information and individuals were joining based on this mediating influence. Kierkegaard advised that "real" people retain a concrete identity in the face of an abstract

public opinion Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. Etymology The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...

. He wrote:

Interpretations

''The Present Age'' and '' Two Minor Ethico-Religious Treatises'' were originally translated by Walter Lowrie and Alexander Dru in 1940. Later, in 1962, Alexander Dru's translation of ''The Present Age'' was published along with ''Of The Difference Between a Genius and an Apostle''. This translation had a long introduction by Walter Kaufmann. Several contemporary philosophers, including

Anthony Rudd Anthony Rudd (c.1549 – 1615) was a Welsh bishop. Life He graduated B.A. from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1567, and M.A. in 1570. He became Dean of Gloucester in 1584, and Bishop of St. David's in 1594. In 1596 he preached a celebrated sermo ...

, John Davenport, and Alasdair MacIntyre allocate this concept and apply it as an analysis of

nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...

Hubert Dreyfus Hubert Lederer Dreyfus (; October 15, 1929 – April 22, 2017) was an American philosopher and professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. His main interests included phenomenology, existentialism and the philosophy of bo ...

, for example in his essay "Anonymity vrs. Commitment in the Present Age", argues that Kierkegaard, "who was always concerned with nihilism, warns that his age is characterized by a disinterested reflection and curiosity that levels all differences of status and value." Other thinkers apply the concept as a symptom of

herd behavior Herd behavior is the behavior of individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction. Herd behavior occurs in animals in herds, packs, bird flocks, fish schools and so on, as well as in humans. Voting, demonstrations, riots ...

mob mentality Herd mentality, mob mentality or pack mentality describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors on a largely emotional, rather than rational, basis. When individuals are affected by mob mentality, they may make dif ...

. Norman Lillegard argues that the present age is "incapable of anything but 'crowd actions' which are not true actions at all."Lillegard, Norman. ''Thinking with Kierkegaard and MacIntyre about Virtue'', in: ''Kierkegaard after MacIntyre''.

References

External links

* Søren Kierkegaard
''The Present Age''
1846, quotes from The History Guide (translations modified from Alexander Dru's translation (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1962

940 Year 940 ( CMXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The tribe of the Polans begins the construction of the following fortified settlements (Gi ...

) * Gregory B. Sadler
''Existentialism: Soren Kierkegaard, "The Present Age"''
June 5, 2012. YouTube.

{{Søren Kierkegaard __NOTOC__ Søren Kierkegaard Ethics Social philosophy Political philosophy

Overview

Interpretations

See also

References

External links