Description

Among the most important and intricate of all the works of Sren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Anxiety is deeply rooted in the life and personality of its author. First published in 1844 under the cryptic pseudonym Vigilius Haufniensis, The Concept of Anxiety is, according to its subtitle, A Simple Psychologically Orienting Deliberation on the Dogmatic Issue of Heriditary Sin. Psychologically orienting it may be; simple it is not. For Kierkegaard, burdened as he was with the guilt of his father, heriditary sin was not a theoretical abstraction but an existential reality. Yet the book, born of his daily struggle with anxiety, is perhaps Kierkegaards most difficult work, embodying the author's great learning as well as his irony and his passion. In this commentary eight recognized Kierkegaard scholars explore the sources and the continuing influence of The Concept of Anxiety.