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Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (pronounced ['sœ??n 'k?i??k??g°??] in Danish, Anglicized as /'k??rk?g?rd/; Listen&_160;(help·info)) (5 May 1813&_160;– 11 November 1855) was a prolific 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian. Kierkegaard strongly criticized both the Hegelianism of his time, and what he saw as the empty formalities of the Danish church. Much of his work deals with religious themes such as faith in God, the institution of the Christian Church, Christian ethics and theology, and the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced with life choices. His early work was written under various pseudonyms who present their own distinctive viewpoints in a complex dialogue. Kierkegaard left the task of discovering the meaning of his works to the reader, because "the task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted".[4] Scholars have interpreted Kierkegaard variously as an existentialist, neo-orthodoxist, postmodernist, humanist, and as an individualist. Crossing the boundaries of philosophy, theology, psychology, and literature, he is an influential figure in contemporary thought.[5][6][7] Søren Kierkegaard was born to an affluent family in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. His mother, Ane Sørensdatter Lund Kierkegaard, had served as a maid in the household before marrying Søren's father. She was an unassuming figure quiet, plain, and not formally educated. She is not directly referred to in Kierkegaard's books, although she affected his later writings. His mother died on 31 July 1834, age 66. His father, Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard, was a melancholic, anxious, deeply pious, and fiercely intelligent man. Based on a biographical interpretation of anecdotes in Søren's unpublished journals, especially a rough draft to a story called "The Great Earthquake," some early Kierkegaard scholars argued that Michael believed he had earned God's wrath and that none of his children would outlive him. He is said to have believed that his personal sins, perhaps indiscretions like cursing the name of God in his youth or impregnating Ane out of wedlock, necessitated this punishment. Though five of his seven children died before he did, both Søren and his brother Peter Christian Kierkegaard, 7 years his elder who later became bishop in Aalborg, outlived him. This early introduction to the notion of sin and its connection from father and son is said by early biographers to have laid the foundation for much of Kierkegaard's work. Despite his father's occasional religious melancholy, Kierkegaard and his father shared a close bond. Kierkegaard is often said to have learned to explore the realm of his imagination through a series of exercises and games they played together, though this particular aspect of the relationship is described only by a pseudonym, in an unpublished draft to a book entitled "Johannes Climacus or de omnibus dubitandum est."
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