Kierkegaard’s Idea of Choice and Self in 'Either/Or' Anonymous College

In Either/Or, Søren Kierkegaard seeks to elucidate the contrasts and interrelationships between the aesthetical and the ethical modes of existence. Within the essay, Kierkegaard confronts the readers with a choice between two forms of existence: the aesthetic, which regards pleasure as the highest value of life, and the ethical, which views the world in terms of civic duty. It is apparent that Kierkegaard thought that both the aesthetic and the ethical had their place as servants of the religious. Contrary to what the title might imply, Kierkegaard doesn’t intend for the audience to make a choice between the aesthetic and the ethical by the end of the essay; instead, there is no absolute choice between aesthetics and ethics at all.

Kierkegaard demonstrates that the essence of human existence is the freedom to make choices and the power of introspective faith. The essay is not published under Kierkegaard’s own name, but rather under one of several pseudonyms. The aestheticist, who expresses his views through various literary forms, is “A.” In the second part, the ethical thinker, who bears the pseudonym of Judge William, is “B.” A is an existential possibility, highly gifted in wit and poetic style, who nevertheless remains...