Ethics

Either/Or

♡+

Søren Kierkegaard

1843

Published under the pseudonym Victor Eremita, Either/Or presents two radically opposed visions of human existence through a collection of papers supposedly found in a secretary. The first volume — the aesthetic papers — contains essays on Mozart, tragedy, and boredom, culminating in the infamous Diary of a Seducer: a portrait of a man who reduces all of life to aesthetic sensation and erotic calculation. The second volume — the ethical papers — contains Judge William's earnest defence of marriage, duty, and the choice of oneself. Kierkegaard does not adjudicate between the two positions; the either/or of the title is the genuine choice each reader must make for themselves.