“So then, the fact that the man in despair is unaware that his condition is despair has nothing to do with the case–he is in despair all the same. If despair is bewilderment, then the fact that one is unconscious of it is the additional aggravation of being at the same time under a delusion. Unconsciousness of despair is like unconsciousness of dread: the dread characteristic of spiritlessness is recognizable precisely by the spiritless sense of security; but nevertheless dread is at the bottom of it, and when the enchantment of illusion is broken, when existence begins to totter, then too does despair manifest itself as that which was at the bottom.”
——————————————————–
~Source: The Sickness Unto Death (1849)
Author: Søren Kierkegaard
