Subjectivity and Authenticity: The Existential Perspective of Kierkegaard

Abstract

The philosophical movement of existentialism revolves around the meaning of individual existence. Existential philosophers focus on investigating the nature of human existence and what it means to be human by exploring the concepts of life’s meaning, freedom, responsibility, thrownness, anxiety, absurdity, subjectivity, and authenticity. Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre have extensively discussed the concept of the ‘authentic self’. They believed that authenticity involves being true to oneself and achieving self- realization. Kierkegaard asserted that the meaning of human existence lies in becoming oneself, a unique individual through personal choices and commitments. He emphasized subjective experience and a personal relationship with God over the authority of the church as an institution. This article aims to discuss Kierkegaard’s account of subjective experience and the authentic self. Furthermore, it explores how and why Kierkegaard justifies the discovery of truth for oneself without relying on objective realms or abstract reasoning.