The term "present age" is a concept in the
philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard. A formulation of the
modern age
The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...
can be found in
Kierkegaard's work ''
Two Ages: A Literary Review'':
Overview
Kierkegaard argues the present age drains the meaning out of
ethical
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of morality, right and wrong action (philosophy), behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, alo ...
concepts through passionless indolence. The concepts are still used, but are drained of all meaning by virtue of their detachment from a life view which is passion-generated and produces consistent action.
Kierkegaard published this book in 1846 just after the
Corsair Affair in which he was attacked by the press. He attacks not only the Press but the Public it serves in this book. He is against abstract moments in time or public opinion as a basis for forming relationships. He wrote about the single individual in his ''
Eighteen Upbuilding Discourses'' and kept to that category here.
Newspapers were mediating information and individuals were joining based on this mediating influence. Kierkegaard advised that "real" people retain a concrete identity in the face of an abstract
public opinion
Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them.
Etymology
The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...
. He wrote:
Interpretations
''The Present Age'' and ''
Two Minor Ethico-Religious Treatises'' were originally translated by
Walter Lowrie and Alexander Dru in 1940. Later, in 1962, Alexander Dru's translation of ''The Present Age'' was published along with ''Of The Difference Between a Genius and an Apostle''. This translation had a long introduction by
Walter Kaufmann.
Several contemporary philosophers, including
Anthony Rudd,
John Davenport, and
Alasdair MacIntyre
Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre (; born 12 January 1929) is a Scottish-American philosopher who has contributed to moral and political philosophy as well as history of philosophy and theology. MacIntyre's ''After Virtue'' (1981) is one of the mos ...
allocate this concept and apply it as an analysis of
nihilism
Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by I ...
.
Hubert Dreyfus, for example in his essay "Anonymity vrs. Commitment in the Present Age", argues that Kierkegaard, "who was always concerned with nihilism, warns that his age is characterized by a disinterested reflection and curiosity that levels all differences of status and value."
Other thinkers apply the concept as a symptom of
herd behavior
Herd behavior is the behavior of individuals in a group acting collectively without centralized direction. Herd behavior occurs in animals in herds, Pack (canine), packs, bird flocks, fish schools and so on, as well as in humans. Voting, Demonst ...
or
mob mentality
Herd mentality, mob mentality or pack mentality describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors on a largely emotional, rather than rational, basis. When individuals are affected by mob mentality, they may make di ...
. Norman Lillegard argues that the present age is "incapable of anything but 'crowd actions' which are not true actions at all."
[Lillegard, Norman. ''Thinking with Kierkegaard and MacIntyre about Virtue'', in: ''Kierkegaard after MacIntyre''.]
See also
*
Leveling
Levelling or leveling (American English; see spelling differences) is a branch of surveying, the object of which is to establish or verify or measure the height of specified points relative to a datum. It is widely used in geodesy and cartogra ...
References
External links
* Søren Kierkegaard
''The Present Age'' 1846, quotes from The History Guide (translations modified from Alexander Dru's translation (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1962
940)
* Gregory B. Sadler
''Existentialism: Soren Kierkegaard, "The Present Age"'' June 5, 2012. YouTube.
{{Søren Kierkegaard
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Søren Kierkegaard
Ethics
Social philosophy
Political philosophy