Soren Kierkegaard

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is known as the first existentialist philosopher. He proposed that the individual is responsible for giving meaning to life, and stressed the importance of living with passion and commitment. Kierkegaard is regarded as one of those whose ideas provided the foundation to Humanistic Psychology. This perspective places emphasis on the individual as one who is driven by a natural tendency to self-actualize, or to fulfill one's potential.