Fear and Trembling. Concept of Fear. Fatal Disease

This anthology was jointly edited, selected and translated by the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Kierkegaard Research Center of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. It is published by China Social Sciences Press. The anthology includes Kierkegaard's major works and is directly translated from the Danish "The Complete Works of Kierkegaard" that has been carefully edited and published in recent years. The content is accurate and reliable and remains as authentic as possible. This will be helpful for Chinese readers to correctly understand the thoughts of the Danish philosopher. In the history of Western philosophy, Kierkegaard can be said to be a special figure. He was unknown during his lifetime, and few people paid attention to his works. However, half a century later, people "rediscovered" him. Especially after the First World War, with the rise and development of existential philosophy, his influence on the ideological circles of Western countries became more and more important. Jaspers once said: "The present philosophical situation is characterized by the fact that two philosophers, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, who were neglected during their lifetimes and who continued to be despised in the history of philosophy for a long time, are now growing in importance more and more. . All other philosophers after Hegel are increasingly losing ground and retiring, but today these two men have indisputably stood out as the truly great thinkers of their time." ("Reason and Existence") He even said that it was Kierkegaard and Nietzsche who "opened our eyes." These words of Jaspers were not only his personal views, but also reflected the general opinions of people at the time. Kierkegaard and Nietzsche indeed represent another trend of Western social thought that emerged after Hegel and is characterized by highlighting the individual, as opposed to Hegelianism which emphasizes the universality of spirit. If, in Hegel, "existence" is just an abstract link in the development process of the absolute spirit itself, then the in-depth exploration and reflection on the meaning of "existence" ("survival") from a personal perspective begins with Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard's philosophy is extremely personal. His personal life experience, personality, emotions, psychology, ideals and pursuits are deeply infiltrated into his philosophical thoughts. Therefore, when we read his works, we need to use a different interpretation method than usual. Hegel once said in the introduction to "Lectures on the History of Philosophy" that "the facts and activities in the history of philosophy are characterized by the fact that personality and personal character do not penetrate very much into its content and essence." This view can be applied to philosophers like Kant, and we can almost ignore his personal life at all. It is possible to understand his works despite living experience, because the mechanical and orderly study life does not seem to add any personality color to his thoughts. As Heine said, "Kant's life is difficult to describe because he has neither life nor history" ("On the History of German Religion and Philosophy").