Kierkegaard says that no one would have condemned Abraham had he not followed
the order the kill his own son, but he would not be admired either and would
not become the "Knight
of Faith". Unlike Hegel, for Kierkegaard
it is not about the idealistic synthesis of contradiction, it is in fact
all about living, not resolving, that contradiction which Abraham faces between
ethical and religious
duty. It is not about mastering a speculative problem, it is about mastering
yourself. Kierkegaard says that
when he cannot understand Hegel he assumes that the problem is with Hegel, but
when he contemplates Abraham the sense of owe seizes him.
The reason for Kierkegaard's
admiration of Abraham is the paradox in his condition, between his devotion to
God and his to devotion to his son. Abraham had to believe, till the last
moment, that Isaac will survive but still be committed without any hesitation
to following the order to kill him. This is what Kierkegaard calls the power of
the absurd or Paradox that is embedded
in Abraham's story. The absurd cannot be met with reason, the only way to
endure it according to Kierkegaard is faith and love. Faith and love have to go hand in hand since
"for he who loves
God without faith reflects upon himself, he who loves God believingly reflects
upon God" (Fear and Trembling, p.88).
What Abraham does is the move, the leap, towards complete resignation. Trying to find
logic in the story is, for Kierkegaard,
trying to turn wine back into water. What Kierkegaard calls the "Knight of Faith" is not a genius with
some superior intellectual understandings, he is a simple man leading a simple
life that out of complete resignation makes to leap of faith which gives
complete security in the world. It is the absurd that ties the infinite with
the finite. The leap that the knight of faith makes is what connects him with
eternity. But this does not cancel earthly transient things and the knight of
faith is not transformed into someone else since "by the infinite resignation he is
reconciled with existence" (Fear and Trembling, p.94).
Back to the main summary of Fear and Trembling
or by chapter:
Preface
Exordium
Eulogy on Abraham
Preliminary Expectoration
Problem I
Problem II
Problem III
or by chapter:
Preface
Exordium
Eulogy on Abraham
Preliminary Expectoration
Problem I
Problem II
See also:
Some books to check out: