Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel vs Soren Kierkegaard
Kierkegaard's philosophy is largely a polemic against Hegel and Hegelianism. Where Hegel built a system that subsumed every philosophical position into a developing logic, Kierkegaard insisted that the existing individual cannot be subsumed in any system.
At a glance
| Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel | Soren Kierkegaard | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 1770 – 1831 | 1813 – 1855 |
| Nationality | German | Danish |
| Era | Modern | Modern |
| Movements | German Idealism, Continental Philosophy | Existentialism, Christian Philosophy |
| Profile | Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel → | Soren Kierkegaard → |
Where they agree
Both held that philosophy must come to terms with the historical and the concrete, both wrote at length about Christianity, and both regarded their philosophical work as continuing rather than completing a tradition. Kierkegaard read Hegel carefully and engaged him in detail.
Where they disagree
Hegel's system claimed to comprehend all reality — nature, spirit, history, religion — within a developing dialectical logic that resolves opposition into higher unity. Kierkegaard insisted that the existing individual's most decisive choices — most centrally, the leap of faith — cannot be rationally subsumed within any logic. Where Hegel's reason mediates between particularity and universality, Kierkegaard's existing individual stands in a relation of immediate decision before God that no system can dissolve.
Representative quotes
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
-
“The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.”
Only one word more concerning the desire to teach the world what it ought to be. For such a purpose philosophy at least always comes too late. Philosophy, as the thought of the world, does not appear until reality has completed its formative process, and made itself ready. History thus corroborates the teaching of the conception that only in the maturity of reality does the ideal appear as counter -
“We learn from history that we do not learn from history.”
What experience and history teach is this — that nations and governments have never learned anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it. -
“Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion.”
Often abbreviated to: Nothing great in the World has been accomplished without passion. | Variant translation: We may affirm absolutely that nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm.
Soren Kierkegaard
-
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Det er ganske sandt, hvad Philosophien siger, at Livet maa forstaaes baglænds. Men derover glemmer man den anden Sætning, at det maa leves forlænds. -
“Purity of heart is to will one thing.”
The two guides call out to a man early and late. And yet, no, for when remorse calls to a man it is always late. The call to find the way again by seeking out God in the confession of sins is always at the eleventh hour. Whether you are young or old, whether you have sinned much or little, whether you have offended much or neglected much, the guilt makes this call come at the eleventh hour. The in -
“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”
How absurd men are! They never use the liberties they have, they demand those they do not have. They have freedom of thought , they demand freedom of speech .
Continue reading
- Full profile: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
- Full profile: Soren Kierkegaard
- Browse all philosopher comparisons