Kierkegaard is a name that tends to evoke some fear and trembling on its own. As an author he is known for some fairly overwhelming philosphical treatises. This however is one of those wonderful exceptions. In "Fear and Trembling", he explores the Old Testament story when God (Yahweh) requests the ultimate test of faith and obedience of Abraham. Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

In "Fear and Trembling", Kierkegaard explores a concept of "suspension of ethics" in which Abraham may be excused from the sin of even contemplating the murder of his son. Why? Because he was operating under the direction of God, and thus "normal" ethical considerations of what is right and wrong were no longer applicable.

Some may consider such a subject to be outside of the ethical concerns of our modern world. After all, this occured more than 2000 years ago. If you fall into that group, consider the story within the past year of large expensive homes burned down by an environmentalist group to make a point about protecting our forests. Or the justifications used by certain individuals for the bombing of abortion clinics. Or the justifications of those who brought down the twin towers in New York on September 11, 2001. Each of those three groups would object to being classifed with the others, although it could be argued that each believes that they fall into Kierkegaard's "suspension of ethics".

This is also a book that explores faith -- the faith of Abraham in his God -- a faith that whatever he was being asked to do was for a good reason and that somehow everything would work out.

Don't get me wrong. Although this is a deceptively short book, it is not an easy read. It will test your concepts of ethics and the boundaries of right and wrong. For some readers, it will twist your mind in knots. It may even test your faith. But it is very worthwhile. A must read in my opinion for anyone who is serious about ethics and faith and critical thought.

John Hornbeck / GHTC-KC Library / June 2008 ( )

I haven't read much yet, but I absolutely adore Kierkegaard. I look forward to reading the rest of it. ( )

I don't read much philosophy (possibly because I am too dumb) but a lot of what Kierkegaard says in "Fear and Trembling" really resonates with me. I love his concept of Knights of Faith and Knights of Resignation, and his multiple views Abraham on top of Moria is possibly the first ever "Five Things" fic. *g*

The "Attunement" alone is worthy of much contemplation. This entire work revolves around the story of Abraham as fodder for revealing Kierkegaard's philosophy of ethics and aesthetics. Faith is proven to be reliance on the absurd after having completely resigned from any possible salvation. He uses the story of Abraham as the supreme example of this, telling the story 4 different ways in order to show the alternatives that would invalidate the significance of the tale. He also uses the story of Iphegenia as a secondary example, nicely drawing parallels between Hebrew and Greek law. A third powerful metaphor is that of a knight and maiden seeking a true love. Through these means, Kiekegaard demonstrates the meaning of faith, doubt, and resignation in such a way that simple discussion could never achieve. And this in turn is backed by the explanation of what is true poetic force, the collision of two powerful emotions -- the maiden torn between holiness and a man rather than the hero lamenting his own situation. Finally, at a fundamental level, the truly faithful put the invidual ahead of the universal. It is the absurdity of such a paradox that establishes the meaning of faith. After the "Attunement," a general discussion culminates with the powerful observation that after 130 years, even Abraham got no further than faith. The remainder is divided into three problemata: (i) Is there a teleological suspension of the ethical? (ii) Is there an absolute duty to God? (iii) What is it ethically defensible of Abraham to conceal his purpose from Sarah? from Eleazar? from Isaac? In the role of doubt, Soren notes that Descartes began by doubting everything and then to solve it rationally, whereas the Greeks tried to preserve doubt no matter how much they discovered. The knight becomes heroic when taking on infinite resignation about a tragic situation. At this level, he accepts his position and has nothing to lose. Still, the next level beyond that involves having faith that victory will indeed happen and thus whatever prize is restored. "Infinite resignation is the last stage before faith, so that anyone who has not made this movement does not have faith; for only in infinite resignation doe my eternal validity become transparent to me, and only then can there be talk of grasping on the strength of faith." ( )