What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Sickness Unto Death
Søren Kierkegaard · Book · 2013
If you loved The Sickness Unto Death, start with The Seventh Seal (1957) — a film on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Sickness Unto Death across media.
You are drawn to how The Sickness Unto Death forces you to confront the agonizing, solitary weight of individual existence.
Films on the same thread
The Seventh Seal
Film · 1957
Shares 2 threads with The Sickness Unto Death: Mortality, Existentialism.
Much like the existential despair analyzed in The Sickness Unto Death, this film centers on a man grappling with the silence of God while facing his own mortality.
Winter Light
Ingmar Bergman · Film · 1963
Shares a thread with The Sickness Unto Death: Despair.
This film mirrors the spiritual crisis found in The Sickness Unto Death, exploring the paralyzing despair that arises when a person feels abandoned by their religious convictions.
Ikiru
Film · 1952
Shares 2 threads with The Sickness Unto Death: Existentialism, Mortality.
If the confrontation with the self in The Sickness Unto Death resonated with you, you will appreciate how this protagonist finds meaning while staring down his own inevitable death.
Diary of a Country Priest
Robert Bresson · Film · 1951
Explores: Crisis of faith, Asceticism, Social isolation.
This portrait of a struggling clergyman reflects the profound internal isolation and religious doubt that Kierkegaard dissects within the pages of The Sickness Unto Death.
Series on the same thread
Death Note
Series · 2006
Shares a thread with The Sickness Unto Death: Existentialism.
The moral ambiguity and god complex displayed by the lead character provide a modern, chilling manifestation of the self-deception and hubris warned against in The Sickness Unto Death.
13 Reasons Why
Brian Yorkey · Series · 2017
Explores: Suicide Contagion, Bullying, Mental Health.
This series examines the devastating consequences of personal tragedy, echoing the deep psychological despair and human condition themes that are central to The Sickness Unto Death.
Six Feet Under
Alan Ball · Series · 2001
Shares a thread with The Sickness Unto Death: Mortality.
By placing death at the center of daily life, this show invites the same rigorous examination of the human condition that defines The Sickness Unto Death.
The Singing Detective
Dennis Potter · Series · 1986
Explores: Hallucination, Disease, Memory.
The protagonist's struggle with identity and physical decay offers a visceral exploration of the internal suffering and fragmentation described throughout The Sickness Unto Death.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson · Podcast · 2026
Shares a thread with The Sickness Unto Death: Existentialism.
These intellectual inquiries into individual responsibility and existential angst serve as a contemporary companion to the philosophical foundations laid out in The Sickness Unto Death.
Desinteligencia Artificial
Podcast
Shares 2 threads with The Sickness Unto Death: Existentialism, Philosophy.
This critique of modern society captures the same sense of spiritual and cultural displacement that Kierkegaard identifies as the core of human despair in The Sickness Unto Death.
Keep exploring
Common questions
What content is included in this edition of The Sickness Unto Death?
This 2013 edition of The Sickness Unto Death is an unabridged version. It includes the preface, introduction, and the core sections covering the universality of despair, the specific forms of this sickness, the relationship between despair and sin, and the continuation of sin.
Does The Sickness Unto Death discuss the concept of sin?
Yes, The Sickness Unto Death contains extensive analysis regarding the nature of sin. The text specifically addresses how despair is defined as sin and provides a continuation of this argument to explore the theological implications of the human condition as presented by Søren Kierkegaard.
Is The Sickness Unto Death a complete text?
This edition of The Sickness Unto Death is presented as an unabridged work. It contains all the original components of the manuscript, ranging from the initial preface and introduction to the detailed chapters on the forms of despair and its connection to the concept of sin.
What topics are covered in the final sections of The Sickness Unto Death?
The final sections of The Sickness Unto Death focus on the theological definition of despair. Specifically, the text explores the argument that despair is sin and provides a continuation of the discussion on sin to conclude the philosophical examination of the sickness.