FEAR AND TREMBLING PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Sören Kierkegaard | 160 pages | 01 Oct 2005 | Penguin Books Ltd | 9780141023939 | English | London, United Kingdom Fear and Trembling PDF Book I have been disappointed by Michel Foucault's Madness and Civilization , had to give up Bertrand Russell's The Analysis of Matter due to lack of background knowledge, and now Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling hits me in the face. In this section Kierkegaard further defines the universal, the absolute, and the paradoxical. In this short volume, he wrestled with the Old Testament account of Abraham's journey to the mountain to sacrifice Isaac; he asks deep questions about Abraham's faith, and motives, and actions, all I knew I was pretty deep in the philosophical pool -- again -- when concepts like "the teleological suspension of the ethical" started to float by, somewhat menacingly. His mind was arrestingly complex, nimble, fluid. Knopf, , p. One must act with complete conviction, buut place the same strength of conviction in a higher power, and in the belief that you will be guided to that which is ultimately good. The Absolute Paradox occasions an absolute decision by posing the absolute either-or. But what did Abraham do? What made him carry out an instruction that must have, at times, appeared harsh and absurd even to him? It is not a righteousness that I seek to embellish for the purposes of self-justification; it is a righteousness wrought by Christ in me that makes me give glory to God alone. He is recollection's genius p. What strikes me as interesting about the Abraham story is that he isn't bothered by the concept of child sacrifice, which seems to be as a concept an entirely reasonable one to him, what is bvothersome is just the logical conundrum of how God may not be sticking to his side of the bargain and that leads, even requires Kierkegaard to dub Abraham a knight of faith, the champion of sola fide. Known for his use of metaphor , irony , and parables, he wrote in-depth works on organized religion, Christian philosophy, and ethics. Kierkegaard used the ethical system of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and the aesthetic stories of Agnes and the merman, [10] Iphigenia at Aulis and others to help the reader understand the difference between the inner world of the spirit and the outer world of ethics and aesthetics. I think it is a good way to represent the story of Abraham but I still don't think that Go I read this book because I'm writing an essay on the Paradox of Faith for my Philosophy of Religion class. If he wants to adhere to his duty and to this wish, he does not become the knight of faith, for the absolute duty specifically demanded that he should give it up. Many people would read Fear and Trembling and find it to be an affirming and inspiring read, and some people would read it and recoil at the depth of surrender demanded of Abraham and perhaps even accuse Abraham or Kierkegaard of some or another form of insanity. Agamemnon balances two ethical demands. How fortunate the one who did not need more terrible means to wean the child! The title is taken from a line from Philippians On the other hand, the person who takes it upon himself to explain the paradox, on the assumption that he knows what he wants, will focus directly upon showing that it must be a paradox. He is not just a great philosopher, but a fantastic writer, yet after numerous readings of Fear and Trembling, which by philosophical standards is rather short and succinct, I still feel there's more to harvest from it. Each one of these "little choices will reveal itself under analysis as the choice of a means towards a predetermined end. A golden calf is at least reliably golden and immobile. Back to School Picks. VIII 1 A Readers also enjoyed. Incredible insight into the life of someone truly passionate about Christianity, and truly desiring to live differently because of it. What makes Kierkegaard different from other philosophers, however, is his wit, his irony, his brilliant sense of humour and poetic prose, which makes Fear and Trembling an immeasurably great work of philosophy as well as literature at its purest. He wrote, "If a person is sometimes in the right, sometimes in the wrong, to some degree in the right, to some degree in the wrong, who, then, is the one who makes that decision except the person himself, but in the decision may he not again be to some degree in the right and to some degree in the wrong? So faith comes after reason and not before. Note again that Johannes declines to be known as a scholar or thinker of any proportion. Viewed that way Kierkegaard makes more sense. He is regarded as a leading pioneer of existentialism and one of the greatest philosophers of the 19th Century. Usually, this makes for a very bad and unhappy life - which was in fact what Kierkegaard got out of it. Reconstructing Yirat Shamayim. The tragic hero gives up everything in the movement of infinite resignation, and in so doing expresses the universal. Kierkegaard posits that since Abraham fulfills an absolute duty to God, of obedience, the ethical paradigm —which makes killing Isaac a crime—is suspended in his case. In a sense, then, we must stop talking, too. Fear and Trembling Writer Notify me of new posts by email. There perhaps are many in every generation who do not come to faith, but no one goes further. It pays to be irrational and to embrace blind faith. Trailers and Videos. I knew I was pretty deep in the philosophical pool -- again -- when concepts like "the teleological suspension of the ethical" started to float by, somewhat menacingly. I'm glad I read Hegel before this; it's not clear to me that Kierkegaard would be plausible, interesting or worthwhile before reading his incomprehensible predecessor. Would a balance possibly require that in return we assume that there is no one at all who would do it? In David F. We might well think that in those days God was plainly so slippery and elusive that one was obliged to cling to pure faith to avoid being completely hopeless. She was his only love as far as "finitude" is concerned and he gave her up. You know the saying: There's no time like the present Peggy Blumquist. My listener, there was many a father in Israel who believed that to lose his child was to lose everything that was dear to him, to be robbed of every hope for the future, but there was no one who was the child of promise in the sense Isaac was to Abraham. Although the current Middle East seems to provide a decent counter-argument. Only in times when reality is a hollow, unspiritual, and shadowy existence, can a retreat be permitted out of the actual into an inner life. Marveled at, as Kierkegaard does. Looking Backward: The Ideology of Hesder. Here are a few examples:. Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file. Abraham hid everything he did. The analytical, dialectical examination of the entire situation will knock you on your ass. However, Kierkegaard's understanding of faith was somet Fear and Trembling was originally published in written in Danish and under a pseudonymous name. Kierkegaard didn't need to work since he inherited much wealth, and ended up studying theology. He inquires whence the universal should obtain the power to individualize itself and put itself into existence, which my also be expressed thus: that not thought as the universal and ideal, but the will as the essence of existence, is the supreme principle, which has the power to determine itself and others. Nov 21, Sarah rated it liked it Shelves: z , classics , nonfiction. Next is his Exordium. Existential Book Kierkegaard's pseudonymous works begin with a preface by Johannes de silentio. Also, when it comes to battling gangs, it is impossible to pick a side, because they are both despicable. Haynes Jr. What makes Kierkegaard different from other philosophers, however, is his wit, his irony, his brilliant sense of humour and poetic prose, which makes Fear and Trembling an immeasurably great work of philosophy as well as literature at its purest. It's short. It's a fairly original piece, and his embrace of the absurd is a pretty clear cut prelude to existentialism. Doubtless the most sublime tragedy consists in being misunderstood. In his necessary reliance on the mediation of concepts to tell the story, the exegete cannot aspire to the uniqueness of Abraham's condition. Feb 20, Megan Fritts rated it it was amazing. He resigned himself to the three-and-a-half-day journey and to the loss of his son. View all 6 comments. I was in awe of its author. Ed Blumquist Jean Smart Reflective grief is not accompanied by any characteristic outward change; even at its very inception it hastens inward, and only a watchful observer suspects its vanishing; afterwards it keeps careful guard over its outward appearance, so as to make it as unobtrusive as possible. Fear and Trembling Reviews Classics and the I have been disappointed by Michel Foucault's Madness and Civilization , had to give up Bertrand Russell's The Analysis of Matter due to lack of background knowledge, and now Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling hits me in the face. Philippians But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.