The subject of this review is the philosophical treatise Fear and Trembling by Danish philosopher, theologian, and religious author Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard uses the Binding of Isaac, in chapter 22 of the Old Testament Book of Genesis in the Bible, to share his personal view of religion and human psychology by using God‘s command that Abraham prepare to sacrifice his son Isaac.
At it’s core, the argument presented by Kierkegaard uses the test of faith presented in the Binding of Isaac story to define faith, first, as an emotion-driven rather than reason-driven thing; that is, faith cannot be experienced or explained through reason or rationality alone. Secondly, the goal seems to be one of offering readers a path to recognizing, and respecting, the personal struggle required to attain religious faith. That a result of these points is the point that the scientific method cannot help you to feel religious faith is an inevitable consequence of the at least the first point. The choosing of respect or disrespect of disobeying the scientific method to achieve religious faith is not a requirement, nor am argument raised by Kierkegaard, for this final point.
The argumentation by Kierkegaard uses the ethical system of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, the aesthetic stories of Agnes and the Merman as found in Danish and Norwegian folklore, the Greek tragic play Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripedes, among others, to help the reader understand distinctions between the outer world of ethics and aesthetics on the one hand, and the inner world of the spirit, on the other. Another line of thought considers Fear and Trembling to be autobiographical for Kierkegaard, with the author working himself through the loss of his fiancée Regine Olsen; this interpretation would have Abraham standing in for Kierkegaard while Isaac stands in for Olsen.
I give Fear and Trembling as written by Søren Kierkegaard 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Matt Lynn Digital 