Johannes Climacus is a novel, as well as a work of philosophy, which tells the tale of what befalls young Johannes Climacus as he decides to become a philosopher. At first he is in awe of the great thinkers, especially Hegel and Hegelians, and sets out to follow their philosophical example by exploring the maxim "Everything must be doubted." The more he examines this idea, however, the more he realizes how deluded his philosophical heroes are. Johannes Climacus demonstrates that philosophy can be humorous and entertaining as well as conceptually rigorous.

Born in 1813, Soren Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian thinker who was a forerunner of existentialism-he concerned himself with the utter isolation of the individual and the mysterious uncertainty of existence. His best known works include Fear and Trembling and Concluding Unscientific Postscript. Kierkegaard died in 1855.