- Lived:
- 1813–1855 · Copenhagen, Denmark
- Tradition:
- Christian existential thought — the revolt of the single individual against the System and the crowd
- The Big Idea:
- The deepest truths — how to live, whom to love, what to believe — cannot be settled by objective proof; they demand a passionate, personal commitment that each of us must make alone.
- In their words:
- "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
- If you remember one thing:
- He is the philosopher of the choices no one can make for you — and he called the vertigo you feel when facing them "the dizziness of freedom."