Sickness unto Death is one of the main works of Christian existentialism. It is this monumental work, which introduces the new pseudonym of Anti-Climacus, that we find Kierkegaard’s concept of despair, and it is here that he develops his theory of “the sin of despair”.

Together with Training in Christianity, Kierkegaard considered Sickness Unto Death ”the most valuable I have produced”, and, indeed, many consider this work the most perfect of all of his works. Here, Christianity is expressed in its most idealized form.

Kierkegaard suffered daily from worries that publishing the work would convey that he was himself an ideal Christian, and he long left it unpublished. Finally, after more than a year of worries and considerations, he decided that, as with his major philosophical works, this too would have a pseudonymous author and himself merely as the publisher. The pseudonym here, however, had another purpose than the earlier ones. Instead of deceiving or qualifying the work esthetically, the pseudonym is chosen for Kierkegaard not to present himself as the perfect Christian. He chose a new pseudonym that perfectly contrasted the author of Philosophical Fragments and Concluding Unscientific Postscript (Johannes Climacus, who did not see himself as a Christian), namely Johannes Anti-Climacus, and finally, after more than a year of hesitation, Kierkegaard could publish his religious masterpiece with peace of mind.

“Anti-Climacus is also the author of Practice in Christianity. He might be considered the author of Kierkegaard’s greatest religious works, just as Johannes Climacus is the author of the great pseudonymous (esthetic) works. H. Hong remarks, “The prefix (Anti-) does not mean ‘against.’ An old form of ‘ante’ (before), as in ‘anticipate,’ the prefix denotes a relation of rank, as in ‘before me’ in the First Commandment”. In his journals Kierkegaard said, “Climacus is lower, denies he is a Christian. Anti-Climacus is higher, a Christian on an extraordinarily high level”. Kierkegaard considered this work and Practice in Christianity to be among his most important.

The Sickness Unto Death is a companion piece to the Concept of Anxiety, which is also a “psychological” work, and moves beyond the earlier preliminary psychological considerations of anxiety in the face of freedom or anxiety derived from and leading to sin. Like its companion, this work is short but very dense. Here Kierkegaard considers the spiritual aspects of despair. As anxiety is related to the ethical, despair is related to the religious, that is, to the eternal.” (D. Anthony Storm, Commentary on Kierkegaard).

Kehler, Henning (1891-1979) was a critic, journalist, and book collector. He was an important literary critic and especially influential in the years between to two world wars, where he excelled in sharp, conservative criticism of contemporary affairs. He wished to revitalize Danish culture and was worried about the contemporary materialism and lack of God. Kehler’s collection, broadly focused on Danish literature, included a significant collection of Kierkegaard.

The present copy is no. 71 in Girsel's "Kierkegaard" (The Catalogue) which can be found here.