What if ... this were Easier?

Existentialism and Effortless Action

When I taught Introduction to Philosophy at Front Range Community College, I started the semester with a long quote from Kierkegaard, as featured in William F. Lawhead's A Philosophical Journey: An Interactive Approach.

Speaking through a fictional character, Kierkegaard bemoans the fact that everyone is fixated on making life easier through the modern (19th century) inventions of railways, telegraphs, and encyclopedias. What was the cost of such convenience?

Kierkegaard writes:

"Out of love for mankind, and out of despair at my embarrassing situation ... moved by a genuine interest in those who make everything easy, I conceived it as my task to create difficulties everywhere."

Lawhead then asks his readers to "stop and think":

In what ways could a philosopher like Kierkegaard make life more difficult for his readers? And why would we want to read the words of someone with this stated goal?