Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard

Author: BBC Radio 4 March 20, 2008 Duration: 42:10

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the rich and radical ideas of Soren Kierkegaard, often called the father of Existentialism.In 1840 a young Danish girl called Regine Olsen got engaged to her sweetheart – a modish and clever young man called Søren Kierkegaard. The two were deeply in love but soon the husband to be began to have doubts. He worried that he couldn’t make Regine happy and stay true to himself and his dreams of philosophy. It was a terrible dilemma, but Kierkegaard broke off the engagement – a decision from which neither he nor his fiancée fully recovered. This unhappy episode has become emblematic of the life and thought of Søren Kierkegaard - a philosopher who confronted the painful choices in life and who understood the darker modes of human existence. Yet Kierkegaard is much more than the gloomy Dane of reputation. A thinker of wit and elegance, his ability to live with paradox and his desire to think about individuals as free have given him great purchase in the modern world and he is known as the father of Existentialism.With Jonathan Rée, Visiting Professor at Roehampton University and the Royal College of Art; Clare Carlisle, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Liverpool; John Lippitt, Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Hertfordshire.


Melvyn Bragg and a panel of academic experts gather each week to explore the vast landscape of human thought on In Our Time: Philosophy. This long-running BBC Radio 4 series, a cornerstone of the network's intellectual offerings, approaches profound ideas not as dusty relics but as living conversations that have shaped our world. Each episode focuses on a single philosopher, a pivotal movement, or a foundational concept, building from the basic principles to the deeper complexities. You'll hear informed discussion and spirited debate that clarifies without oversimplifying, making centuries of thought accessible and relevant. The scope is deliberately broad, tracing connections from ancient inquiries into ethics and existence to the modern puzzles of logic and language. Rather than offering quick answers, this podcast provides the context and clarity needed to genuinely engage with questions about knowledge, self, and society. It’s an invitation to sit in on a nuanced, thoughtful dialogue that assumes curiosity rather than prior expertise, reminding us that these enduring debates are, in every sense, still very much in our time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

In Our Time: Philosophy
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