Kierkegaard's Stages of Life: Exploring Meaning and Experience

This essay delves into Kierkegaard's stages of life, examining the aesthetic, ethical, and religious phases. The author explores these stages through personal reflections and interviews, highlighting how individual experiences and motivations align with each stage. The essay discusses how age does not necessarily determine a person's stage and that life experiences and responsibilities play a more significant role. It also touches upon the possibility of individuals existing in multiple stages simultaneously. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of Kierkegaard's philosophy on life's journey and the meaning of existence, offering insights into how individuals navigate their aspirations, duties, and spiritual growth.

Kierkegaard's Stages of Life
The Kierkegaard's stages of life describe the three phase that a soul experiences in
their mortal self. The stages as described by Kierkegaard is like a course of the journey an
individual passes through, as they progress in their life. They are similar to the age groups
that we have, yet it is not bound to follow a certain pattern. Kierkegaard has described three
stages of life, wherein an individual have a different motivation for fulfilling their life goals.
The paper intends to reflect on these stages of life as described by Kierkegaard and interpret
the meaning through the experience others as well my own self.
I explained the three stages of Kierkegaard to few of my friends and colleagues and
they all had different motivations as per the various stages. Two of my friend who have just
started working reveals that they connect more with the first stage which is the ‘Aesthetic’
phase. Since they have just started getting a pay check and is looking life with a new perspective, they
feel more motivated when indulging in extravagance and enjoying the various pleasures of life. They
get the most motivation when spending money on themselves, which includes going clubbing or
enjoying a movie with a bunch of friends. Their life revolves around them at the moment. They are
very young right now and early twenties. They have just started enjoying financial independence and
are making the most of it. The financial security gives them the wings to enjoy whatever they want to
do, and the aim of their life right now is to fulfil their own ambitions right now, than thinking about
ethics or others. Thus, given the age bracket, the first stage of life is understandable for them.
Another friend who is also a colleague has a different take on Kierkegaard’s three
stages of life. Though even he is in early twenties, yet he is a responsible and takes into
account the role and duties assigned to him. He is a diligent son and looks after his mother,
ever since his father passed away a few years ago. He seldom comes out for drinks with us
after office, as he has enrolled for a number of courses and catches up for his classes after the
office hours. The fact that he is an Asian is also a factor since they are more collectivist than
Americans. In contrast to the other friend, this Asian friend age group did not correlate with
the stage of life which he is in currently, which is clearly the second stage of ‘Ethics’.
Another colleague claimed to relate to the second stage of more. He is a father of two, and
feels responsible towards his family. Like the Asian friend, even he is bound by his duties
and obliges them happily. The second stage of ‘Ethics’ is true for him and given his age of 34
years, it is reasonable as well.
I did not find anyone who was in the third stage of life. I guess all the people I
interviewed were in the materialistic stage of life, and for the third stage of ‘Religious’, one
needs to be on a spiritual and detached phase to experience the stage.
I am still in the first stage of life and feel that since I do not have any responsibility at
the moment, I am not accountable to anyone. Though I enjoy living for myself, but I still
have regard for people who matter in my life like my family and best friends. Thus, I believe
I do have a sense of responsibilities to those who matter to me. As evident with the responses
I got, the three stages of life as describe by Kierkegaard is not influence by the ages a person
is, rather it is more to do with the experiences that they have gone through in life. Thus, a
person who has not seen much of life or not gone through much struggle will be still in the
first stage of life, irrespective of their age, since they have not understood their responsibility
or are not recognising the same. Thus, a person even though married and having children will
still continue to fulfil their own aspirations and enjoy life, if they have not realised their

duties and responsibilities. On the other hand, a person who has gone through a lot of struggle
in life and has people dependent on them will oblige by their duties and not live life merely
for themselves. Further, I also believe that a person can be in two stages of life at the same
time, like in my case, and enjoy life while also fulfilling their duties.