Fear And Trembling

According to Hegel, the absolute can be discovered through the dialectic. The absolute is a rational, objective truth. Kierkegaard argues that the absolute cannot be known, as faith transcends rationality. However, the knight of faith can stand “in absolute relation to the absolute” (200), meaning he can find a personal relationship with God). 

The absurd is something that is unknowable, going beyond human possibility. Kierkegaard argues one must embrace the absurd in order to make the movement of faith. The absurd brings Isaac back to Abraham, as there is no reason that it should be so, and yet it is.

Kierkegaard divides life into three stages, with the aesthetic being the lowest of the three. The aesthetic is that part of life concerned with the lived experience and sensory perceptions. Because it is rooted in subjectivity, the aesthetic values privacy and secrecy.

A dialectic is a philosophical approach in which a thinker analyzes contradictions, juxtaposing a thesis with its antithesis to form a new idea. The “System” Kierkegaard references throughout Fear and Trembling is the Hegelian Dialectic, a system in which absolute truth or objectivity can be reached through inquiry. Kierkegaard argues against the endpoint of a dialectic but uses the dialectic to structure his own argument.

Kierkegaard divides life into three stages, with the ethical being the second of the three. The ethical is the way the universal expresses itself and involves a person acting in a public way to benefit the community. In Hegelian thought, the highest point one can reach is the ethical. Kierkegaard argues that the ethical is merely the highest point that humans can understand and articulate.

Faith is the strong belief in God or religion. Passion is required for faith, and one must have faith in order to make the movement into the absurd. To Kierkegaard, faith is a higher level of thought and can never be understood.

God tests individuals through an ordeal that causes fear and anxiety. Humans must live with the knowledge that they may have to retreat into the ethical, and that they may constantly lose something. One must live in fear and learn to be patient.

Kierkegaard describes three types of people: the slave of the finite, the knight of infinite resignation, and the knight of faith. The slave can only exist in the universal, while the knight of infinite resignation can go beyond because he has experienced fear and loss. The knight of faith can go still further by making the double movement of resignation and faith, making him a person who has lost but regained what he has lost. He can enjoy life while also embracing the absurd and gaining spiritual and religious insights.

Mediation is the process of synthesizing two opposing positions through the dialectic. It takes place in the realm of ideas and is, thus, limited to the universal. Kierkegaard argues that faith and spirituality cannot be mediated.

To make the step between the universal and the religious, Kierkegaard suggests one must make movements. First, one must move from the universal to infinite resignation; then, one must embrace the virtue of the absurd and make the movement of faith. These are personal choices one must make through a struggle with fear and life itself; without making such movements, there can be no faith, for only the struggle can lead to a higher plane of existence.

Mount Moriah is the location where God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard uses Mount Moriah as a metaphor for the ordeal of faith.

A paradox is a self-contradictory statement. In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard argues that a paradox is central to faith. Abraham would be a murderer according to the ethical view, but paradoxically he is the father of faith and deserves praise. This cannot be understood or explained but must be accepted to have faith.

Kierkegaard argues that most people in his own day are obsessed with reflection and thought rather than passion. Passion involves an intellectual obsession or complete devotion to a belief, and so passion is a prerequisite for faith. Similarly, passion requires devotion and work, so by extension faith cannot be inherited.

Kierkegaard divides life into three stages, with the religious being the highest of the three. In the religious, a single person has a private relationship with God, one higher than the ethical or universal. Only the knight of faith can exist in the religious, and he cannot be understood by others.

Infinite resignation is one of the movements Kierkegaard argues is necessary for faith. It is the experience of giving up something one holds dear, struggling with the pain of that loss, but ultimately accepting it and reconciling oneself to it. The tragic hero exemplifies infinite resignation, while the knight of faith can move past it and regain through faith what has been lost.

The System is Kierkegaard’s name for Hegelian thought. Hegel organized all philosophy and thought into one system that could discover universal, objective reality. Kierkegaard suggests that such a system may work for knowledge but faith cannot be understood objectively or as part of the System.

Teleology is the explanation of phenomena based on their goals rather than their causes. Ethics is usually teleological because it has the purpose of benefiting the greater good. Kierkegaard argues that faith requires the suspension of the teleological aspects of the ethical. Faith allows individuals to not think about a goal or the greater good, as faith is an individual action.

Temptation is used in Fear and Trembling to refer to two separate things. First, it is a test that causes the fear and trembling Abraham experiences. Second, a temptation refers to the demonic appeal to revert to a lower stage of life instead of a higher one (for instance, to reveal the truth for the ethical rather than hide the truth for the religious). Abraham, for example, is tempted by the ethical on his journey to Mount Moriah.

A tragic hero is one who gives himself over to the universal. He is willing to make the movement of infinite resignation for the greater good or ethical responsibility. But he cannot go beyond this stage and experience faith; he can be understood, celebrated, and mourned, unlike the knight of faith.