Kierkegaard was fresh air in his own century and he remains such nearly 200 years since his birth. His original, antisystematic stress on individual existence, especially the importance of willing and acting, led him to be labeled an existentialist. Other existentialists would follow his path.

His most identifiable doctrine is about the three stages of life. These are stages to attaining selfhood or what people now call “finding oneself.” But since one must exist before one can achieve selfhood, existence is prior to humanity. Or, as Jean-Paul Sartre later expressed the idea (see Chapter 21), existence is prior to essence.

Kierkegaard's life and philosophy were centered on existential questions: “How shall I live my life?” “What kinds of life are worth living — the aesthetic, ethical, or religious?” “What does it mean to have faith?” “What does it mean to love?” “What does it mean to accept one's suffering and how can one do this?” His discussions of these questions reveal his unfailing and uncanny philosophical acumen and literary brilliance.