Volume one of Samposlashren Kierkegaardamprsquos EitherOr explores the crisis of the modern secular voidampmdashwith its attendant doubt ennui and alienationampmdashfrom the firstperson perspective of an aesthete who lacking any epistemic or moral foundations grows increasingly obsessed with what he calls ampldquothe interesting.amprdquo In a close explication of the history of that aesthetic concept and a thorough exegesis of this volume Kierkegaardamprsquos Concept of the Interesting The Aesthetic Gulf in EitherOr I explores the aestheteamprsquos views on beauty opera and music tragedy and comedy time unhappiness the difference between suffering and pain boredom eroticism deception and seduction along with the ways in which these precipitate the ambition for increasingly interesting experiences. In this examination Anthony Eagan thoroughly reveals Kierkegaardamprsquos own perspective on how an exclusively aesthetic attitude can lead to an evermore voracious tendency to interpret the world in a private selfdefeating and unscrupulous fashionampmdashone arising from and ultimately leading to moral solipsism and despair. This book develops a comprehensive understanding of EitherOr I that is crucial for understanding the rest of Kierkegaardamprsquos authorship.