Abstract

This essay examines the relevance of Kierkegaard’s analysis of “the present age” for our own age, focusing specifically on the existential implications of neoliberalism and biopolitics. By examining the significance of Kierkegaard’s view of ethical and religious existence-stages, I argue that his concerns about leveling and despair bear directly upon pressing problems concerning sexuality, identity, and political exclusions. Kierkegaard becomes an ally of contemporary critical theory, and, in this alliance, Kierkegaard’s religious existentialism foregrounds the spiritual or religious dimensions of our present-day critical projects.