Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic and religious author. Born in 1813 in Copenhagen, his philosophical work addressed living as a single individual and the importance of personal choice and commitment. A famously fierce critic of the idealist thinkers of his time, he is regarded as the first existentialist philosopher. Here you will find extracts from his greatest works. The Life Lessons series from The School of Life takes a great thinker and highlights those ideas most relevant to ordinary everyday dilemmas. These books emphasise ways in which wise voices from the past have urgently important and inspiring things to tell us. This book is introduced and edited by Robert Ferguson, author of the Viking history The Hammer and the Cross and two Danish novels. He is a novelist, biographer, dramatist and historian.