The truth is not a fact to be discovered, but a way to live

Health · Published 18 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Most of us seek truth in objective data and external certainty. But for the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, the most vital truth is found in subjectivity: the personal, strenuous, and often difficult way an individual relates themselves to the world and their own existence.

Søren Kierkagard, a 19th-century Danish philosopher and theologian, famously challenged the idea that human existence could be understood through mere explanatory systems or objective facts. Influenced by Socrates, he moved away from the grand, systematic philosophies of thinkers like Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Instead, he focused on the 'strenuous difficulty' of religious and ethical existence, arguing that the highest task of a human is the process of becoming oneself. He entered the University of Copenhagen in 1830, though he did not finish his studies until 1841. During this time, he studied various literary figures, including Faust and Don Juan, to find models for his own life.

A central pillar of his thought is the concept that 'subjectivity is truth.' While objective facts are important, Kierkegaard argued that the more crucial element of truth involves how one relates to those facts. From an ethical perspective, how a person acts and relates to their convictions is more significant than the data itself. This focus on the individual's internal relationship to truth laid the groundwork for modern existentialism. This philosophy is reflected in his 1835 journal, where he noted that finding a truth worth living and dying for was his primary goal. He believed that becoming a Christian was a lifelong, arduous task rather than an instant event.

Kierkegaard's own life was marked by what he called 'collisions'—intense personal crises that shaped his work. These included a period of estrangement from his father, Michael Pedersen Kierkegaard, and the painful breaking of his engagement to Regine Olsen in 1841. He often used pseudonyms, such as Johannes Climacus and Anti-Climacus, to explore different worldviews—aesthetic, speculative, and religious—without necessarily claiming those views as his own. Through these literary personas, he explored the tension between merely observing life and truly living for an idea. His second major period of writing occurred between 1847 and 1855. This era was marked by a public feud with the satirical newspaper The Corsair, which subjected him to intense ridicule in Copenhagen.

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