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Fear and Trembling (Green Integer)

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FEAR AND TREMBLING stands as one of Soren Kierkegaard's most widely read works. It's brevity is appealing to those with only a marginal interest in philosophy and theology. It's subject matter is what attracts those persons who want to find a nexus between ethics and theology.

In the work, Kierkegaard engages the famous passage in the Old Testament of the bible where Abraham is ordered by God (Yahweh) to sacrifice his son, Isaac. It stands today as the most salient episode in the bible where Plato's EUTHYPHRO dillema is confronted.

Now, what is the EUTHYPHRO dillema, you may ask? The dillema is set out by Socrates in Plato's dialouge of the same name. Basically, it comes down to this: are good and evil intrinsic to the universe itself? Or are the qualities of good and evil decided upon by God (or gods)? If the former is true, then God (or the head of a pantheon of gods) cannot be truly omnipotent, for there is at least one power that even he / she / it must follow. If, on the other hand, good and evil are decided by God(s), then might makes right.

Enter Kierkegaard, who spends the pages of this work acting more-or-less as a defense attorney for Abraham for his even contemplating the murder of his son. For Kierkegaard, the divine-command-theorist, the latter horn of the conundrum (i.e.: might makes right) is the only plausible alternative open for the religious believer. The first horn denies God's sovereign omnipotence over the universe and all of its affairs, which is utterly unacceptable.

So, the Dane offers to us the defense of what he calls the "teleological suspension of ethics." That is to say, while Abraham was acting out of direction from God, he was not subject to the ethical laws of the "everyday" universe that the rest of us live in every day.

That, in brief, is the topic that this book considers. For the complete explanation and polemics of his views, this book is highly recommended. That the subject matter of FEAR AND TREMBLING greatly disturbed Kierkegaard becomes readily obvious in the first pages. If the arguments presented are examined carefully, it is a topic whose implications may very well shock the modern-day theologian as well.

The value of this work is that it correctly argues that faith is ultimately a choice that cannot be completely supported by logic or rational proof. It was Kierkegaard's experience of losing the chance to be with the person he loved that forced him to confront the absurd nature of faith. Although believers in many religions will argue that their faith is logical and rational, Kierkegaard fully grasped that if conviction is based fully on logic, it does not need faith to support it.

Perhaps the best metaphor can be found in the New Testament passage where Christ invites Peter to walk on water -- Peter takes a step with faith and does not sink, but then looks down, and begins to evaluate the situation using his rational mind, and begins to sink. True faith walks on water. Only true faith could be sufficient to base a life on the conviction that a dead guy in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago came back from the dead and has his own kingdom where his followers will live forever in eternal bliss. On the other hand, this conviction has become so entrenched in the popular culture of the last 2,000 years that it has just become an unremarkable backdrop to the modern world and is considered a socially acceptable belief.

The challenge for a modern christian is to find true faith when they mistakenly believe that the story of Jesus Christ is completely supported by logic and rational thinking. The mere act of mentally assenting to what has been accepted in popular culture, a broad and shallow idea that God and Jesus exist, is not faith at all; just an unexamined conclusion of a lazy mind that has not yet questioned its own surroundings. True faith is a radical departure from the status quo, a renewal of personal conviction despite all contradictions and a recognition of UNCERTAINTY. Without a recognition of uncertainty, faith has no meaning. The strength of true faith is that it acknowledges that uncertainty exists, and yet still forges on in spite of the uncertainty, willingly accepting and embracing the consequences of conviction in the face of uncertainty. There is not fear that the conviction may be misled and flinching because of the uncertainty, there is a recognition that this lack of absolute rational proof and certainty is what gives faith its supreme virtue. This is what makes faith courageous and is something that only mortal humans can do, since angels are blessed with absolute knowledge whereas humans are blessed with uncertainty, which is the only way that true freedom can exist. Without this freedom, the choice of "faith" would not be possible, would not be courageous, and would not make mortals eligible for the reward of heaven.

The believer who claims that all faith is logical has not yet come to the moment of testing, like Abraham, like Kierkegaard, where the object of the soul's deepest longing and only happiness is seen, but yet out of reach. For Kierkegaard it was the girl he loved, that he could never be with, but yet he retained hope and transformed that hope into a lifetime of faith. The personal pain of such an experience leads a person to exclaim "it doesn't make sense!" Only when one reaches the point where it just doesn't make sense can the ultimate nature of real and profound faith be experienced and put into action. Anything else is a shallow beginning, and not yet a sufficient faith to walk on water, just as Peter found when he was invited to take that step...

This book is full of such profound insight because Kierkegaard understood this and knew that faith was not a shallow, cheap or easy achievement:

"In those old days it was different. For then faith was a task for a whole lifetime, not a skill thought to be acquired in either days or weeks. When the old campaigner approached the end, had fought the good fight, and kept his faith, his heart was still young enough not to have forgotten the fear and trembling that disciplined his youth...." (p.42)

Fear and Trembling This is not a review of Kierkegaard's work (which is a seminal piece of modern philosophy), but instead of the quality of the Wilder Publications edition. Most of the reviews you will see of this title here on Amazon refer to the Penguin Classic edition, which would undoubtedly have to be a better-produced version of this book. The Wilder edition is a thin, print-on-demand paperback that resembles a pamphlet more than a book. There is no text on the spine (good luck finding this after it's been on your bookshelf for a few months) and there are no credits beyond Kierkegaard's -- that's right, no one takes or is given credit (or blame) for the translation. It's not enough to say I wouldn't have paid the asking price had I seen this in a store -- I WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT THIS if I had seen it in a store.

Print-on-demand publishers are responsible for keeping some great work available. Some of them are also responsible for presenting that work in the poorest possible light. Choose this book from a publisher you've heard of.

Kierkegaard first takes issue with the prevailing (i.e., Hegelian) notion that faith is something to be "transcended" by means of systematic philosophy, and almost baits the reader to consider what it means to go "beyond" faith anyway. Next, he postulates 4 thought experiments that (poetically) reconstruct the Abraham and Isaac ordeal, each of which is intended to show how the story might be harmonized with the prevailing Hegelian mode of understanding the "univeral" in ethical terms. Finally, the section on "Problemata" argues against three (at the time well-known) postulates of Hegelian ethical thought by showing that these are all inconsistent with some remarkable feature of the faith that Abraham evidences.

The section on the Knight of Infinite Resignation and the Knight of Faith provide, albeit obliquely, support for the view that the movement of faith is absolute, and cannot be transcended.

Hannay's introduction is excellent (however, I would suggest first skimming it, then reading Kierkegaard's book, then reading it in earnest at the end).

The ironic pen-name Kierkegaard uses should be more than enough warning that things aren't necessarily what they seem, so if anyone tells you what this book is about, or what Kierkegaard intended, I suggest you take it with a grain of salt, read this book, and decide for yourself.

Students of Kierkegaard will tell you the meaning of this book in terms of his personal life; philosophers will show you its philosophical meaning; the religious will describe it as a treatise on faith. It is probably all of these, and may be even more. The work centers on the exemplary life of Abraham, in particular the story in which he is asked by God to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac - the son given to him as fulfillment of a promise by God himself. This story is fully worthy of the "fear and trembling" the title expects, but it also serves as an archetypal example of faith itself, in uncompromising terms.

It is also a counter-argument against the (in Kierkegaard's view) stifling moral rationalism of Hegel - an argument "on the strength of the absurd" which is nonetheless compelling, even if one were to ultimately reject it. Considering this, it is perhaps fitting that his work - certainly grave and severe - ultimately provides an affirmation of individual self-determination and a wholehearted engagement with the real world and its affairs... a faith which Kierkegaard professed himself incapable of.

Worth the time of reading once or several times. Poetic, but not lighthearted entertainment - then again, who would read a book titled "Fear and Trembling" on a lark?

There is much I do not understand here. If I can make a weak attempt to grasp the obvious, it is that while Abraham is to be admired for his faith, it is a faith which cannot possibly be understood by anyone other than himself in an ultimate sense. Kierkegaard is writing in an age of Hegelian hegemony, and he must constantly describe his thoughts in relation to the dialectic, where the universal or ethical holds complete intellectual rule over the absolute or individual standards of right and wrong. His many historical and legendary analogies - which might have helped his contemporary readers understand the concepts of faith as going beyond total resignation to stand on the strength of the absurd - are to some degree lost on the less literate like myself in the late 20th century. Much is made of the tragic hero and the sharp distinction between his simple appeal to the duty of the universal ethic and Abraham's case in which no amount of ethical conjuring could make God's demand justified or righteous to anyone other than Abraham as an individual. Furthermore, the faith which uniquely makes Abraham's actions righteous is precisely the point he could not have conveyed in words, and any attempt would have minimized or nullified the action of faith. Paradox and the dialectic are very key to his discussion and a solid understanding of both is recommended. Even without those, however, this book will deepen your awe of God's demand and Abraham's faith as it challenges your understanding of your own faith.

Most of what I read 30 years ago for college classes remains a blur, but this text, along with "Sickness Unto Death," stands out as a notable exception. It appealed to my romantic nature and ironic temperament, and confirmed my suspicions of all organized religions while leaving room for faith--an insane leap into a relationship that by relating itself to itself is grounded transparently in the power that posited it. Somehow it made sense then, and still does. No one describes romantic fixation and unrequieted love as carefully yet passionately as Kierkegaard, then transforms it from mere narcissistic stasis into life-affirming energy.

The description of this kindle book promises the whole text. However, the text from which it is derived is an abridgement consisting of only 1/3 of Fear and Trembling. While the material itself is of high quality this editon failed to meet my expectations. Half of the content was simply a summary of Kierkegaard (grealt resembling the wikipedia entry) instead of the actual text. It's not worth paying money for a public domain author when you don't even receive the whole work.

Kierkegaard's book expands on his basic heirarchy of modes of existence - aesthetic, ethical and religious. The book begins with the case of Abraham's decision to sacrifice Isaac because God had ordered him to. The choice of the case is tied to Kierkegaard's desire to exposit on the conflict between ethical and religious modes of existence and show why the religious mode is a higher mode of existence.

Abraham's sacrifice was something that has debatable ethics. However, it is not as simple as a religion-obsessed man sacrificing his son. Abraham and Sarah got the son by appealing to Yehovah. And the same Yehovah asks Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham's dilemma does not end there. He has to hide the sacrifice from Sarah and from Isaac. He needs to take Isaac with him using Isaac's trust in his father. He needs to take Isaac away using Sarah's trust in Abraham. He needs to do that with the consciousness that he is betraying that trust. And he has to cope with his own conflicting emotions of love for his son, guilt about abusing trust, and his own trust in god. Kierkegaard goes on to explain that it is his trust in god that allowed Abraham to do this - a trust that god would not really want the sacrifice to happen, a trust that god would return his son.

From this, Kierkegaard goes on to prove why a 'teleological supsension of the ethical' is possible and why ethics is not sufficient to serve as a basis for spirituality.

It pleases me that so many readers have reviewed "Fear and Trembling" at amazon.com, yet infuriates me that so few have written anything of substance for those who wish to know whether Everyman's edition is the one to buy. Yes, "Fear and Trembling" is a response to Hegel. Yes, the story of Abraham is central to it. Truly, my hat is off to those who have thought carefully and insightfully about this work; however, most of amazon.com's reader reviews of "F&T" merely restate what one finds in Steiner's introduction--which (surprise, surprise!) is available to every passerby, thanks to Amazon.com's "look inside" option.

Ignore the critical interpretations available here, and skip directly to Steiner's introduction. What you will find there should convince you that this is the translation worth your money. Quite simply, Steiner writes beautifully, with an almost hypnotizing lyrical precision. And while Steiner isn't the translator, the flavor and quality of his prose closely matches that of the translation itself; I have yet to find another translation of "F&T" that I believe compares to Everyman's.