''Two Ages: A Literary Review'' ( da, En literair Anmeldelse af S. Kierkegaard) is the first book in Søren Kierkegaard's second authorship and was published on March 30, 1846. The work followed '' The Corsair affair'' in which he was the target of public ridicule and consequently displays his thought on "the public" and an individual's relationship to it.

Overview

The book was a critique of the novel ''Two Ages'' (in some translations ''Two Generations'') written by Thomasine Christine Gyllembourg-Ehrensvärd and discussed "The Age of Revolution" and "The Present Age". Kierkegaard characterized the Age of Revolution as "essentially passionate; therefore it has 'not nullified the principle of contradiction' and can become either good or evil, and whichever way is chosen, the 'impetus' of passion is such that the trace of an action marking its progress or its taking a wrong direction must be perceptible. It is obliged to make a decision, but this again is the saving factor, for decision is the little magic word that existence respects".Hong, Howard V. and Edna Hong, ''The Essential Kierkegaard'', Princeton University Press, 2000. After giving his critique of the story, Kierkegaard made several observations on the nature of The Present Age and its passionless attitude towards life. Kierkegaard wrote that "the present age is essentially a sensible age, devoid of passion" and that " e trend today is in the direction of mathematical equality, so that in all classes about so and so many uniformly make one individual".Kierkegaard, Søren (ed. by Howard V. and Edna H. Hong), ''Two Ages: The Age of Revolution and the Present Age, a Literary Review'', Princeton University Press, 1978, p. 85. In this, Kierkegaard attacks the

conformity Conformity is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to group norms, politics or being like-minded. Norms are implicit, specific rules, shared by a group of individuals, that guide their interactions with others. People often cho ...

and

assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture *Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs **Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the progre ...

of individuals into an indifferent and abstract public, "the crowd".Kierkegaard, Søren. ''A Literary Review'', Penguin Classics, 2001, Although Kierkegaard attacked the public, he was supportive of communities where individuals keep their diversity and uniqueness. Another element of The Present Age is that it is marked by indecisive deliberation ("reflection") and contemplating ("reflexion") the decay of the age in one's inner thoughts.

Notes

1846 books Books by Søren Kierkegaard {{philo-book-stub