Soren Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Soren Kierkegaard's philosophical classic, "Fear and Trembling", tells the story of Abraham and Isaac from the Old Testament in a series of versions. The author stresses that Abraham is not a murderer but a man of the faith, as shown in his act of resignation to the absurdity of God and the teleological suspension of the ethical that is its result. The paper relates that Abraham, the "Knight of Faith", obeys God, sacrifices Isaac, but fears God's wrath and dwells with the pain of the loss of the beloved firstborn; but the second, true Abraham is the "Knight of Infinite Resignation", who obeys God in action, but knows in his heart that God is good and something will happen so that he will gain back all he has lost.

From the Paper:

"Critical to Kierkegaard's thesis of the greatness of Abraham as a "Knight of Infinite Resignation" is the notion of the teleological suspension of the ethical. This refers to the fact that, because it is God's request, Abraham does an action that he knows is wrong. Kierkegaard stresses that merely because God tells Abraham to do something, this does not make the sacrifice of Isaac right. Rather, Abraham agrees to sacrifice his own morality because of his absolute trust, faith, and resignation in the will and the goodness of God. This level of trust is absurd, of course. How will the murder be prevented? But it is also absurd that God would give Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, long after the two were too old to have children."

More papers on Soren Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling":

• Essay # 4115 : "Fear and Trembling"
• Book Review # 95883 : "Soren Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling"
• Book Review # 99820 : "Fear and Trembling"

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