{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062930850?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"0062930850","authors":["Soren Kierkegaard","Søren Kierkegaard","Alexander Dru"],"book_id":"9780062930859","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780062930859","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780062930859.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","description":"“ The Present Age shows just how original Kierkegaard was. He brilliantly foresaw the dangers of the lack of commitment and responsibility in the Public Sphere. When everything is up for endless detached critical comment as on blogs and cable news, action finally becomes impossible.”— Hubert L. Dreyfus, University of California, Berkeley Soren Kierkegaard’s stunningly prescient essay on the dangers of mass media—particularly advertising, marketing, and publicity. An essential read as we reckon with, and try to understand, the media forces that have helped create our present political moment. In The Present Age (1846), Søren Kierkegaard analyzes the philosophical implications of a society dominated by the mass-media. What makes the essay so remarkable is the way it seems to speak directly to our time—i.e. the Information Age—where life is dominated by mere “information” not true “knowledge.” Kierkegaard even goes so far as to say that advertising and publicity almost immediately co-opts and suppresses revolutionary actions/thoughts. A stunningly prescient essay that foresaw the rise of twenty-four-hour news and social media, The Present Age examines the philosophical and political implications of a culture of endless, inconsequential commentary and debate.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780062930859","publication_date":"20190806","publisher":"HarperCollins","slug":"the-present-age","subtitle":"On the Death of Rebellion","title":"The Present Age"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS054000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Social History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI001000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Aesthetics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI006000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Existentialism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Modern Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI019000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Political Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI022000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Religion & Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI026000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Philosophical Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI034000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Social Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}],"hint":[],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS054000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Social History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI001000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Aesthetics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI006000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Existentialism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI016000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Modern Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI019000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Political Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI022000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Religion & Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI026000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Philosophical Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"PHI034000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Social Philosophy","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Social History","score":1,"slug":"social-history"},{"label":"Aesthetics","score":1,"slug":"aesthetics"},{"label":"Existentialism","score":1,"slug":"existentialism"},{"label":"Modern Philosophy","score":1,"slug":"modern-philosophy"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Social History","Good for readers interested in essays","Good for fans of Philosophy"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Søren Kierkegaard"],"book_id":"9798880911547","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9798880911547.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":12.9166,"title":"Sickness Unto Death","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9798880911547"},{"authors":["Søren Kierkegaard","Sren K","Soren K."],"book_id":"9798880911554","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9798880911554.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":12.9159,"title":"Sickness Unto Death","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9798880911554"},{"authors":["Omri Boehm"],"book_id":"9781681379852","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781681379852.jpg?v=20260402T191500Z-bisacv2site-fullset%3A2026-04-05T16%3A15%3A58Z","score":11.1868,"title":"Radical Universalism","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781681379852"},{"authors":["Hubert Dreyfus","Sean Dorrance Kelly","Hubert L. 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