" (BE 31) As we can see this definition is loaded with concepts and the relationships between them. We will now attempt to break down this definition and understand what Kierkegaard means by the self. Four distinctions are made: infinite and finite, temporal and eternal, freedom and necessity, and finally body and soul. Considering that our focus is going to be the eternal (and its related counterpart the temporal) I am not going to go into great depth on the other three, but, as we shall soon see, the eternal plays a major role in the development of those other distinctions.
What then is the eternal? In one word the eternal is the unchanging, this is in opposition of the temporal which includes change and becoming. (KPA 91) It must now be asked what then Kierkegaard considers to be unchangeable. As humans we have the ability to rationally make decisions, whether or not higher order animals also have this ability is not our concern. What is our concern is that this decision making process gives us options. As humans we are constantly, every day engaged in an existence which forces us whether we like it or not to make decisions. One can choose to get out of bed in the morning, go to work, go home, relax and then go to bed. Or on the other hand one can choose not to get out of bed, miss work, relax and then go to bed. Obviously these are not the only possibilities that a human can choose, it is doubtful that a list could ever be made that encompasses all the possibilities of human action. What cannot be disputed is that humans have to make decisions in order to exist. Exceptions to this statement can be found i.e.) coma victims, but I think the point remains strong regardless, for the most part humans have to make choices in order to exist. Even if a decision is avoided, this can still be considered a choice. And this is what Kierkegaard calls unchanging "that which does not change within the self system is the fact of the self's freedom".