2. Becoming an individual

‘Becoming an individual’ looks at the influence of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche on existentialism's approach to the individual. Kierkegaard described three stages for the individual: the aesthetic stage, where one operates without morality; the ethical stage, where one recognizes that ‘to be is to choose oneself’; and the religious stage, where one realises that moral rules are no longer absolute. The centrality of choice was particularly influential for existentialists, and greater importance was attributed to the situations of individuals. Nietzsche argued that all are motivated by a base ‘will-to-power’ and that only ‘free spirits’ can reshape morality to match this.