“If someone who wanted to learn to dance were to say: For centuries, one generation after the other has learned the positions, and it is high time that I take advantage of this and promptly begin with the quadrille--people would presumably laugh a little at him, but in the world of spirit this is very plausible. What, then, is education? I believed it is the course the individual goes through in order to catch up with himself, and the person who will not go through this course is not much helped by being born in the most enlightened age.”

Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, and religious writer

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, social critic, and religious writer. He is widely regarded as the first existentialist philosopher, and he lived in the early to mid 19th century. His writing examines organized religion, Christianity, morality, ethics, psychology, love, and the philosophy of religion. He often used metaphor, irony, and parable, and his work returns again and again to the question of how a person lives as a single individual, with emphasis on authenticity, personal choice, commitment, and the duty to love.