Pictures

Babies & Kierkegaard

Just last week I attended my sister-in-law's baby shower. She's having a boy & has decided that his name will be Elisha. In the picture is the two of us and I'm holding her belly. As I looked through the pictures from that night, I began to think about what Elisha's life would be like once he is born. What would he look like? What kind of personality will he have? How would his life turn out to be? All these questions went through my head, and as I thought, Kierkegaard's ideas of the tbree stages of life also came to my mind.
Kierkegaard described three stages that everyone goes through in life. The first is the aesthetic stage. In the aesthetic stage, one attempts to fulfill all sensory experiences and pleasures. Elisha would of course pass through this stage for at least his first few years of life as a baby and a toddler. I believe this because all babies seek out to fulfill physical pleasures such as eating, sleeping and pooping. As Elisha grows older, he will probably seek out other self-fulfilling pleasures, without thinking about the consequences that follow.
The second one of Kierkegaard's stages is the ethical stage. In the ethical stage, one follows the rules that coexist in society. In this stage, Elisha will probably come to discover that life is not all about seeking out ones own pleasures, but about living in harmony with whatever society he lives in and contributing to the functioning of his community. 
Kierkegaard's final stage is the religious stage. In this stage, one has complete faith in God. Elisha will most likely finally surrender his life to God, realizing that he is close to death and that he needs the help of a higher supreme being in order to take care of his after life. In the religious stage, Kiekegaard believed that one makes their life worthwhile by embracing their faith in God.
So as I pointed out, baby Elisha will most likely experience all these stages throughout his life, the aesthetic, the ethical and the religious stage. Some stages may last longer than others, but he will have at least a little taste of them all.