Stages of Life and Relationships

Kierkegaard is definitely one of the philosophers this semester I have fully grasped. His “Stages on Life’s Way” are very relatable and one can ponder upon which stage they fall into. Discovering which stage you are in is quite simple with the criteria Kierkegaard gives, this is where things get interesting. In thinking about our conversations about the stages of life, I thought, “What happens when people in different stages decide to date?” Not that I’m any Dr Phil or anything, but I think this may be an issue in relationships. In each stage in life, I would argue one’s thinking is different from those of different stages. For example, if a couple were made up of one aesthetic person and one ethical person, many everyday decisions might be disagreed upon. Examples might be going out a night before an important board meeting at the office, or maybe purchasing a vehicle above your means. An ethical person would obviously see an issue here, however, aesthetics, being the “free spirit” they are, would worry about the potential consequences of their actions at a later time. One may question why two people of such different stages might even be attracted to one another. Well, we can’t control whom we’re attracted to right? I think if everyone evaluated themselves to these life stage criteria, relationships might be better contemplated on things other than looks.