“The self is not the relation but is the relation’s relating itself to itself.” (41) In this subjectively confusing beginning sentence, Kierkegaard defines one of the basic concepts he develops in “The Sickness Unto Death,” It is his definition of a ‘self’, we as human beings practice self-awareness, we objectively think about ourselves and our role in our collective society, this distinguishes us from animals however this ‘relation’ is the cause of despair: “The possibility of this sickness is man’s superiority over the animal,” (43) Despair which he defines as, “Despair is the misrelation in the relation of a synthesis that relates itself to itself.” (44) A self experiences despair when their objective view of themselves does not match their …show more content…
Ultimately he states that despair stems from the desire to “get rid of himself.” A despairing person is someone who is unhappy with themselves and their self-perception, but it isn’t always as obvious as unhappiness usually is. Most people are likely despairing about some aspect of their lives, “Anyone who really knows mankind might say that there is not one single living human being who does not despair a little, who does not secretly harbor an unrest, an inner strife, a disharmony, an anxiety about an unknown something or a something he does not even dare to try to know, an anxiety about some possibility in existence or an anxiety about some possibility in existence or an anxiety about himself.” (51) Not every human being can be completely satisfied with their life all the time, in fact it’s realistic to declare that not one person has been completely satisfied consistently for their entire