When was Either/Or by Kierkegaard first published?
Either/Or was first published in February 1843 in Copenhagen. It appeared as two volumes under the pseudonymous editorship of Victor Eremita. A second edition followed on the 14th of May 1849.
Questions about Either/Or (Kierkegaard book)
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the main philosophical argument of Either/Or?
Either/Or presents two modes of existence: the aesthetic, characterized by personal pleasure and immediacy, and the ethical, characterized by commitment, responsibility, and rational choice. Kierkegaard argues that choosing one's own life, rather than drifting within the aesthetic, is the foundation of selfhood. The book ends with a hint toward a third, religious mode that supersedes both.
Who are the pseudonymous authors in Either/Or?
Either/Or uses four pseudonyms. Victor Eremita is the fictional compiler and editor who claims to have found the papers in an antique escritoire. "A" authors the aesthetic essays in Part I. Judge Vilhelm, also called Wilhelm, authors the ethical letters in Part II. Johannes is named as the author of the Diary of a Seducer, with Cordelia as his lover.
What is the Diary of a Seducer in Either/Or?
The Diary of a Seducer is a section of Part I attributed to Johannes the Seducer. It depicts Johannes manipulating a young woman named Cordelia into breaking off their engagement, valuing the interesting possibility of seduction over the act itself. John Updike described it as "a feverishly intellectual attempt to reconstruct an erotic failure as a pedagogic success."
Why did Kierkegaard write Either/Or under pseudonyms?
Kierkegaard used pseudonyms to separate himself from the viewpoints expressed and to encourage readers to engage with the text rather than the author's personality. He explained this strategy in The Point of View of My Work as an Author (1848). A week after publication he also wrote a newspaper article under the pseudonym "A.F." arguing that knowing who wrote the book was beside the point.
How did Either/Or influence later writers and thinkers?
August Strindberg wrote that Either/Or made him a champion of the ethical life, and Miguel de Unamuno published his 1914 novel Mist in response to the Diary of a Seducer. Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue in 1981 renewed Either/Or as a major ethical text, prompting extensive scholarly response. The musician Elliott Smith named his 1997 album Either/Or after the book, having studied philosophy at Hampshire College in Massachusetts.