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Existentialism & Culture

We Have Spirit, Yes We Do! We Have Spirit, How ‘Bout You?

Dan Sinykin says that Kierkegaard is worried about you.

Preface: For the love of God, consider this a primer, a warm-up, a teaser, but certainly not a substitute for the work analyzed within. One is a ragtag attempt at accessible jottings about the other, which is a timeless masterpiece on the human condition. You can guess which is which.

A stranger with whom you’re having a casual conversation on, say, a short flight suggests after a few minutes of innocent banter that your life lacks something vital – literally vital, as if without this mystical something you’re a walking corpse. He suggests your living death to you subtly, not with pamphlets or Hell-threats, not in the name of any gods or religions; he maybe even less suggests than implies that you’re missing something, showing only indirect concern for your well-being.