Without the second volume. 'Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a Danish philosopher who is considered to be the father of modern existentialism. Either-or is the first book published by Kierkegaard under a pseudonym, the personage Victor Eremita. In Either-Or, Kierkegaard describes two modes of existence, the aesthetical and the ethical, encouraging his reader to proceed from the first to the second mode. According to Kierkegaard, the ordinary man in daily life exists aesthetically. However, there is a hierarchy between different stages of existence: from the aesthetic one can proceed to the ethical and, finally, to the religious mode. (The religious mode is discussed explicitly in other works such as Fear and Trembling, Philosophical Fragments, and Concluding Unscientific Postscripts). In Either-Or Kierkegaard opposes the aesthetical and the ethical mode of existence by personifying them: an individual called ?A? represents the aesthetical, whereas the ethical is represented by the personage of a judge. Reading Either-Or, one follows the exchange of letters between the two figures whereby the judge critically reflects and discusses the problematic aspects of A?s aesthetic life. Aspects such as personal satisfaction, the chase of fleeting pleasures, the ignorance of consequences and the emphasis on the immediacy of experience are characteristic of the aesthetic mode of existence. Instead of being guided by immediacy, the ethical mode of existence is guided by reflection and a strong will, directing the individual to an improved self (seen in an ethical light).?