A Critical Examination of the Human Person in Kierkegaard's Philosophy

This paper is titled “A critical Examination of the Human Person in Soren Kierkegaard's Philosophy”. Soren Kierkegaard's philosophy places strong emphasis on the individual human person and their subjective existence. He reacted against Hegel's abstract objective view of human existence and focused on the concrete individual facing existential questions and choices. For Kierkegaard, true individuality or selfhood is the central task and ethical imperative of human existence. Individuals must become aware of their true self and its relation to the infinite and eternal, rather than living inauthentically in terms of immediate pleasures or abstract social categories. The problem before this paper is the notion of individuality and subjectivity which form the central focus of Kierkegaard's conception of man. This paper adopts the analytic and critical methods of philosophical research to examine Kierkegaard's understanding of the human person and as well point out some grey areas in the western conception of the human person. The paper observes that contrary to Kierkegaards conception of man as being purely individualistic and subjective, man's existence is not solely individualistic, there is a relation between man and his fellow humans in the society. The paper concludes that to have a full grasp of the notion of man there must be a blend between the Western and African conception of human person. That is, man is not just an individual being, but also a relational entity whose being is made manifest through the recognition of the other. Amongst other recommendations, the study suggest that educational institutions should incorporate existential philosophy to help individuals understand their role in life.