Unit 10 Kierkegaard: Three Stages of Life

UNIT 10: KIERKEGAARD: THREE STAGES OF

LIFE
UNIT STRUCTURE
10.1 Learning Objectives
10.2 Introduction
10.3 Three Stages of Life
10.4 Aesthetic Stage
10.5 Ethical Stage
10.6 Religious Stage
10.7 Let Us Sum Up
10.8 Further Readings
10.9 Answer To Check Your Progress
10.10 Model Questions

10.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit, you will be able to

l explain Kierkegaard’s notion of Three Stages of Life
l discuss the conceptions of aesthetic stage, ethical stage and
religious stage.
l explain the differences among the three stages.

10.2 INTRODUCTION

Kierkegaard was crowned as the ‘father’ of existentialism. He

was primarily concerned with individual human existence. The term
existence, according to Kierkegaard, is reserved for those individuals
who exists individually through their values and their thoughts. The
individual, Kierkegaard stated, is not just an organism but the subject,
meaning one who sees things from within, as a conscious self, from his
own inner perspective. Therefore, one cannot explain the individual from
the side of reason or body. The self, according to Kierkegaard, is always
in the process of becoming.

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An individual always tries to find the meaning of his existence by

getting immersed in the crowd. Kierkegaard opined that this is not the
correct way. For him, the individual only by relating to God can derive the
true meaning of his existence. Anxiety keeps on pervading the life of an
individual which is brought about by his awareness of the fact that his
existential self is deeply alienated from his essential self. The individual
cannot overcome his anxiety until he actualizes his essential self in God.
The individual then tries to recover his essential self and this urge come
from here on, the ‘process of becoming’ of the individual starts.

10.3: THE THREE STAGES OF LIFE

The ‘process of becoming’ of the individual can be traced through

the three stages or spheres of existence or ‘stages on life’s way’, or
‘existential categories’ or ‘modes of existing’, according to Kierkegaard.
The three stages are aesthetic stage, that is, the stage of immediacy; the
second stage is the ethical stage, which is the stage of requirement and
the last is the religious stage, that is, the stage of fulfillment. Through the
three stages Kierkegaard tried to state the fundamental choices which
are confronted by the individual in his search for a more developed self-
possession. The Stages of life, was presented by Kierkegaard in a very
compassionate and imaginative manner in his book ‘Either/Or’.
Each sphere or stage is arranged in a hierarchical manner. As the
individual in his consciousness continues to develop then the
progression from the aesthetic to the ethical and lastly to the religious
stage takes place. The development through the different stages of
existence however does not occur automatically since it has a spiritual
character. Therefore a conscious choice by the individual is required for
the development. The individual can spend his entire life in these self-
contained spheres.
Kierkegaard regarded the spheres of existence not as absolute
and rigid formula but as the most flexible means for the interpretation of
experience. For him, the transition of the individual from one stage to

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another takes place by a ‘leap’ or free decision. The transition to another

sphere must be chosen inspite of the inadequacy of any sphere.
However, he never argued that the movement from one stage to another
can be systematically demonstrated or that, it is a necessary step. But
the criticisms he put forward for the aesthetic stage, urges one to adopt
the next mode and abandon the aesthetic stage.
The three spheres of existence are not compatible with one
another but sometimes the two spheres, that is, the ethical and the
religious stage are treated by him, as single system, only to be
contrasted with the aesthetic stage. In his writings, the religious sphere
is considered as the highest sphere even though there is no compromise
or transition between the spheres of existence.
According to Kierkegaard, all the spheres are equally unjustified
and so which sphere of existence has been chosen by the individual, is
not the important matter. The main point is that the individual by exerting
his freedom and by virtue of his choosing has proven himself that he is
an individual. For choice, the spheres are always presented as valid or
invalid possibilities. For this reason, Kierkegaard, was not able to show
preference among them. He always remained neutral and employed
pseudonymous characters like Judge Wilhelm and Johannes, the
Seducer in his book Either/Or to portray the alternatives. They through
their dialogues not only exposed the values and problems of the ethical
and the aesthetic sphere but also the virtues of both of the spheres.
However which one is to be chosen was not suggested by them.
Kierkegaard stated that due to inadequacy there is actual
progression from one stage to another, which ends with the religious
sphere. The religious sphere is the right way of life because according
to him the previous stages are inadequate and both lead to despair. This
he stated in his books Philosophical Fragments, Concluding
Unscientific Postscript and Sickness Unto Death.

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10.4 AESTHETIC STAGE/ AESTHETIC MODE OF

EXISTENCE

Aesthetic stage is the most delicate and least stable of all forms
of existence. This stage is occupied by majority of people. The main
characteristics of this stage is pleasure which remains within the realm
of unreality and dream. In this stage, the person lives the character of
automation and behaves according to his impulses and emotions. The
aesthetic man leads a life of luxury or hedonism. According to
Kierkegaard, this stage does not provide the individual with any stable
sense of identity and it estranges humans from selfhood.
The desire to enjoy various varieties of pleasure is the main
motive of the aesthetic person. For him everything including duty is
submissive to pleasure. In the aesthetic stage, everything becomes play,
enjoyment or delusion. The aesthetic person detaches himself from
moral struggle and indulges only in the search of beauty.
The aesthetic stage is a dead- end road. It deprives life of all
meaning and leads only to boredom and disgust. The aesthetic man is
self-centered, selfish and despairing. He is only in the quest for more
pleasures to escape from despair. He tries to attain the illusory life of
uninterrupted pleasure.
At the end, the aesthetic stage of existence ultimately becomes
boring, meaningless and empty by the repetitive forms of sensual
gratification. The aesthetic stage thus detoriates to a life of meaningless
despair. This acknowledgement leads to the realization that his inner
spirit yearns for a more meaningful existence and his life will become
intolerable, if this spiritual need is being repressed. For such individual,
Kierkegaard suggested the ethical way of life. He also stated that, the
transition from the aesthetic stage to the ethical stage is to be achieved
by making a decision, by a commitment or by an act of will.

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10.5: ETHICAL STAGE/ ETHICAL STAGE OF

EXISTENCE

The ethical stage is the second level of existence. Kierkegaard

described this stage as the stage of choosing oneself. The ethical man,
in this stage, is required to take an active role not only in shaping his self
but also in the way he lives. The ethical stage of existence is based on
a set of rules that are rational and consistent. Therefore man in this stage
is more rational. He recognizes and accepts the rules of conduct that are
formulated by reason as these are established for the good of the
society.
Kierkegaard to exemplify the ethical person used the
pseudonymous character ‘Judge Wilhelm’. He stated that, there are
many things that are missing in the aesthetic sphere of existence. It is
the ethical life, which provides the individual with that which the aesthetic
sphere failed to supply. He advocates the life in which the individual
chooses his actions himself unlike the aesthetic person, who relies on
the worldly events, external things and circumstances to get stimulated.
Universality or rationality is the most important feature of the
ethical stage. It also the essential condition for a set of principles to be
regarded as the ethical principles that is applicable to all without any
partiality.
For the ethicist, transforming himself into the universal individual
is his main task. He sets these tasks himself. The ethicist possess the
beautiful qualities like good manners, decency etc. the ethical man
believes that to live an ideal life adherence to the laws of social morality
is required. He realizes that for a meaningful existence only satisfaction
of the sensual pleasures is not enough. Thereby he tries to embody the
universal values in his existence.
Reflection and self-assessment is the characteristics of the
ethical stage. The ethical person can evaluate the meaningfulness of his
life through reflection. The conscious and principled choice is the sign of

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the ethical stage person and their actions have importance with regard
to their agreement with the rules of morality.
The ethical stage of existence however comes to an end by the
uncertainty of existence, as it fails to validate one’s personal existence
and experience also lacks personal meaning. The ethical task of
expressing himself in the universal, which is, in order to become
universal, stripping himself of his individuality, is the main predicament
which is faced by the ethical person. The reason behind this is that, by
maintaining his individuality, he becomes guilty of deviating from the
universal and thereby he sins; again by not maintaining his individuality
also he sins, for not revealing what he is. Therefore, he cannot escape
guilt, whether he maintains individuality or not, does not matter. Guilt, for
Kierkegaard, does not mean an unpleasant hangover that comes after
doing some wrong acts; rather it means that which itself insinuates itself
at a much deeper level of experience.
In the ethical approach to life, a man is faced with another
problem. The problem of performing his duties whatever may be the
circumstances because he himself by being the member of the social
milieu and by making commitments is bound to perform his tasks.
However while performing his duties; the ethical person is faced with the
conflicting situations like whether to follow his conscience or to get
tempted by the superficial compromises, whether to perform his duty
towards the society or towards his own individual self and so on. As a
result of all these, the ethical man then finally comes to realize that he
is not capable of performing his duties and to fulfill the moral laws. There
are things which are beyond his control and which he cannot escape.
The ethical man then violates the law; the great ethical universal
deliberately and consequently becomes aware of his guilt. The shadow
of guilt becomes darker and it keeps on spreading, making it impossible
for him to remove the dread of guilt or to surpass it. The ethical person
then starts to feel that only God can help him in this situation. According
to Kierkegaard, guilt then becomes the dialectic element and a new
‘either/or’ is placed before the ethical man. Now it becomes his choice,
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whether to be at the present stage fulfilling his moral laws and duties or
to move to the next sphere of existence—the religious sphere, on
realizing his limitations and being aware of estrangement from God, to
whom he belongs. The ethical individual, then by an act of commitment,
by a ‘leap of faith’ arrives at the religious sphere of existence. This leap,
as it is without any convincing arguments and without any assurance for
objective knowledge, is for Kierkegaard, leap into the unknown without
knowing where one is ‘leaping’.

10.6: RELIGIOUS STAGE / RELIGIOUS SPHERE OF

EXISTENCE

Kierkegaard favored the religious stage as his chosen mode of

existence. In his book ‘Point Of View Of My Work As An Author’ he stated
that, his main purpose is to arouse the religious view of his life in his
readers.
In the religious sphere, the individual stands in relationship to God
which is unique and subjective experience. God cannot be pursued
objectively and so the relation between God and man cannot be
explained objectively, conceptually or rationally.
The religious sphere of existence is regarded by Kierkegaard, as
the highest and the most complete mode of existence. He called it the
‘dialectic of life’. According to him, there are two types of religious life.
The first one is ‘Religion A’. It is natural, immanent religiousness or a kind
of general religiousness in which the individual by wholly relying upon his
own immanent idea of God makes an effort to relate to God and also
solve his problem of guilt.
The second one is ‘Religion B’, the religion of transcendence, that
is, the Christian religion. Religion B accepts that God, for the purpose of
establishing a relation with man incarnated as human being—Jesus
Christ. For accepting ‘Religion B’ which is based upon revelation, faith
beyond reason is required. The individual is assured of his personal
relation to God only by an act of faith.

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Religion A, according to Kierkegaard, is the religion of the

common man. It involves performing some weird activities and rituals
and also believing supernatural powers, ghosts etc. it fails to bring a new
man into existence because by misunderstanding the nature of existence
and by completely ignoring the necessity for self-engagement it had not
only lost the way to authentic existence but also falsified the concepts of
man and God.
Therefore Religion A with a false hope not only weakened the
individual but also failed to fulfill its claim of taking the individual to a wider
range of living. The individual then moves forward to Religion B. It is only
faith through which the individual can enter the world of God, totally
leaving the world of reason.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Q1: Who is regarded as the father of

existentialism?
Q2: The self is, according to Kierkegaard, always
in the —————?
Q3: What is the name of the first stage?
Q4: Man in the ethical stage is more ————?
Q5: Religious stage is regarded as the highest stage. (True/False)

10.7 LET US SUM UP

l The three spheres of existence is the most influential doctrine of

Kierkegaard. The individual, according to him, can exist in any of
the three spheres. However, it is only because of experience of guilt
and despair that the individual becomes aware of the qualitative
differences between the three spheres. This awareness leads him
to think that the other mode of existence is far more authentic than
his present mode.

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