Am I talking to myself . . .

Today is the birthday of Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (May 5, 1813 – November 11, 1855), philosopher. Søren Kierkegaard, (along with Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche) is considered a father of Existentialism.

"One sticks one’s finger into the soil to tell by the smell in what land one is: I stick my finger in existence — it smells of nothing. Where am I? Who am I? How came I here? What is this thing called the world? What does this world mean? Who is it that has lured me into the world? Why was I not consulted, why not made acquainted with its manners and customs instead of throwing me into the ranks, as if I had been bought by a kidnapper, a dealer in souls? How did I obtain an interest in this big enterprise they call reality? Why should I have an interest in it? Is it not a voluntary concern? And if I am to be compelled to take part in it, where is the director? I should like to make a remark to him. Is there no director? Whither shall I turn with my complaint?" - Søren Kierkegaard

"To be a teacher does not mean simply to affirm that such a thing is so, or to deliver a lecture, etc. No, to be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner. Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner, put yourself in his place so that you may understand what he understands and the way he understands it." - Søren Kierkegaard

"The thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the idea for which I can live and die." - Søren Kierkegaard

"There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming." - Søren Kierkegaard

Trivia bit: Søren Kierkegaard wrote under various pseudonyms to present various distinctive viewpoints, which sometimes ironically commented on each other's opinions. Was it a dialogue with himself?

Stamp image source (1)