Fear and Trembling () is a philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio (Latin for John of the Silence). It is widely regarded as one of Kierkegaard's most influential texts and a foundational contribution to the philosophy of religion and existentialism.
The work is an extended meditation on Genesis 22, also known as the Binding of Isaac. Johannes de silentio examines the tension between ethical duty and faith through an analysis of Abraham's psychological state during his journey to Moriah. The text argues that it is impossible to understand Abraham's actions through the ethical framework of Hegel's philosophy. Rather, the actions can only be understood through a distinct category—faith.
The title references Philippians 2:12, "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling". The Philippians verse is thought to reference Psalm 55:5.
Summary
The work starts with an "Exordium", or prologue that presents four different retellings of the Binding of Isaac. In each, Abraham is prepared and willing to follow God's command to sacrifice Isaac, but something goes wrong. Abraham or Isaac loses faith, or Abraham is overcome with guilt. Silentio does not consider any of these retellings of Abraham to have genuine faith, which establishes that willingness to obey God does not constitute faith on its own.
The "Exordium" is followed by the "Eulogy on Abraham", in which Silentio recounts Abraham's life and accomplishments, praising him as the "father of faith". The emphasis of the section is that the greatness of Abraham is not just in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, but also his belief that God would either not require it or restore him. Faith is what distinguishes Abraham from other figures associated with sacrifice or loss.
The "Preliminary Expectoration" introduces the central distinction of the work: the difference between faith and infinite resignation. Silentio uses knights as examples of the contrast between the two positions. The knight of infinite resignation renounces what he loves and accepts the finality of the loss. On the other hand, the knight of faith is able to make an additional movement beyond the finality. Silentio describes the move as being made "by virtue of the absurd". The knight believes that he will receive back what he has given up, or be restored and made whole in some way. Silentio admits that he can understand infinite resignation, but not faith. The admission serves as introduction to the three Problemata that make up the rest of the text.
Central argument
thumb|The Sacrifice of Isaac, [[Caravaggio (1603)]]
The core claim of Fear and Trembling is that it is impossible to understand Abraham through rational ethical thinking. Using frameworks of Greek philosophy or Hegel leads to a reductio ad absurdum. Silentio's argument is that either there exists a category that must transcend ethical reasoning, or faith does not exist. If the latter were true, Abraham's characterization as the "father of faith" is inaccurate. The text argues for the former position, in that faith is the category that transcends ethics, and that Abraham's relationship to God cannot be logically mediated through standard ethical means. Silentio identifies three Problemata, or problems, and uses them to structure a detailed defense of his argument.
Three Problemata
The second half of Fear and Trembling is made up of three Problemata, through which Johannes de silentio examines if Abraham's actions can be understood through rational ethical thinking or if they require the distinct category of faith. They are:
- Problema I: Is there a Teleological Suspension of the Ethical?
- Problema II: Is there an Absolute Duty to God?
- Problema III: Was It Ethically Defensible for Abraham to Conceal His Undertaking from Sarah, from Eliezer, and from Isaac?
Problema I: Teleological suspension of the ethical
Silentio identifies the ethical with the universal, which in his framework is incumbent upon all people at all times. Sin occurs when an individual asserts himself over and against the universal. Faith, on the other hand, is a paradox whereby an individual transcends the universal without sinning. Johannes de silentio argues that Abraham must occupy this category of faith, because without doing so, he would not be the father of the faith. Kierkegaard, however, believed that the work would secure a lasting reputation for himself, and would be translated into many languages, which he wrote about in his journals.
Influence on existentialism
left|thumb|230x230px|[[Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1995)]]
During the 20th century Kierkegaard's works, and specifically Fear and Trembling, became widely read after being translated into German, French, and English in the early 1900s. The rise of the existentialist movement caused Kierkegaard's reputation as a philosopher to grow significantly, with existentialists citing him as an early precursor to the movement. Many of the ideas and concepts referenced by Kierkegaard in Fear and Trembling such as the individual, limits of rational ethics, and difficulty of choice without external justification became key in existentialist thought. Even though Sartre rejected Kierkegaard's theism, he heavily referenced the structure of existential choice in Fear and Trembling.
Karl Barth and the dialectical theology movement, established through Between the Times (German: Zwischen den Zeiten) in 1922, drew on Kierkegaard's paradox of faith examined in Fear and Trembling. Barth used Abraham's incommunicable relationship with God to emphasize the infinite distinction that exists between God and humanity. Kierkegaard's analysis of anxiety and the individual is referenced in Martin Heidegger's Being and Time (1927) drawing briefly on themes present in Fear and Trembling.
The 1964 UNESCO colloquium on Kierkegaard held in Paris, at which Sartre delivered the lecture "The Singular Universal", is generally regarded as the decisive consolidation of Kierkegaard's place in existentialism. By contrast, John J. Davenport offers an eschatological reading, arguing that Abraham's movement of infinite resignation consigns the aesthetic and ethical goods of the matter away from his power, and directly into the hands of God.
Jacques Derrida's The Gift of Death (1992; French: Donner la mort)' devotes a large portion to an analysis of Fear and Trembling. Derrida uses Abraham's paradox of secrecy and duty to God to examine the structure of ethical decision-making, arguing how every decision that prioritizes one obligation over another mirrors Abraham's paradox.
Emmanuel Levinas was critical of Kierkegaard's interpretation; in 1963 he offered a substantial critique of Fear and Trembling in his essay "Existence and Ethics". Levinas criticized Kierkegaard's teleological suspension of the ethical, arguing that it allows an individual's relationship to God to override ethical claims of the other person, which he characterized as a form of violence. Levinas claimed that Kierkegaard misrepresented ethics as a universal impersonal obligation, when in actuality it is a personal responsibility to each singular other. Levinas's and Derrida's readings of Fear and Trembling are often discussed in dialogue with one another and mark an important point of debate in philosophy of religion and ethics.
Literary influence
left|thumb|226x226px|[[Franz Kafka (1883–1924)]]
Franz Kafka engaged extensively with Abraham's portrayal in Fear and Trembling both in his letters and unpublished fragments. Kafka offered a literary response to the story rather than a philosophical analysis. In a March 1918 letter to Max Brod, Kafka wrote:<blockquote>In Fear and Trembling, for example – which you ought to read now – his affirmativeness turns truly monstrous and is checked only when it comes up against a perfectly ordinary helmsman. What I mean is, affirmativeness becomes objectionable when it reaches too high. He doesn't see the ordinary man (with whom, on the whole, he knows how to talk remarkably well) and paints this monstrous Abraham in the clouds.</blockquote>In June 1921, writing to Robert Klopstock, Kafka proposed a series of alternative Abrahams to the ones written about in Fear and Trembling. These example figures were either asked to make the sacrifice before they had a son, were in the middle of building their house when God made the request, or believed that a different Abraham was being called upon.
Notable objections
Dangerous-precedent objection
left|thumb|222x222px|[[Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)]]
Levinas's critique of Kierkegaard is the most prominent objection to the teleological suspension of the ethical, which is a key argument of Fear and Trembling. Levinas argued that allowing such an ethical suspension is dangerous because it permits the justification of violence in the name of religion. The Kantian view is that no divine command could contradict the moral law, therefore either the command was not from God, or its moral interpretation is misunderstood. Although the charge is applied to a different work of Kierkegaard composed under a different pseudonym, critics such as J. Aaron Simmons have identified a similar problem in Fear and Trembling. Critics argue that if faith operates beyond rationality, then there is no way to distinguish faith from delusion.
Scholars such as C. Stephen Evans have argued that the absurd does not produce a logical contradiction; it is merely used to reference a point beyond rational calculation. This creates a problem at the heart of the text where the author cannot comprehend the concept he is analyzing and praising. If faith itself is an incommunicable paradox, then the entire attempt to put it into writing using a rational framework is self-defeating and incomprehensible.
Those who see the admission as a devastating philosophical problem argue that the text cannot deliver on its own central premise. Others, such as Clare Carlisle, have argued that the admission is used as an illustration by the pseudonym to convey the incommunicability of the faith described in the work. In this instance, the paradox becomes the point of the argument rather than its fatal flaw, with the work designed to bring the reader to the threshold of the problem rather than crossing it.
Relationship to Kierkegaard's biography
Regine Olsen
alt=Portrait of a young lady. She is wearing a dress under a coat. She is looking to the left, somewhat smiling.|thumb|234x234px|[[Regine Olsen (1822–1904)]]
Fear and Trembling was written in the period following Kierkegaard's broken engagement to Regine Olsen. Kierkegaard originally proposed to Olsen in September 1840 but broke off the engagement in October 1841. Shortly after this he traveled to Berlin, and composed the majority of the work. Fear and Trembling was published on October 16, 1843, along with his other work Repetition, which also contained themes of loss and hopes of recovery. Kierkegaard's attachment to Olsen persisted until his death in 1855, after which his will directed that his entire estate be left to her unconditionally. Kierkegaard wrote "to me an engagement was and is just as binding as a marriage, and that therefore my estate is her due, exactly as if I had been married to her." Olsen declined the inheritance.
Kierkegaard's journals contain multiple passages that connect his writing to Regine. Many commentators interpret the figure of the knight of faith, who renounces what he loves and believes he will receive it back "by virtue of the absurd", as a reflection on Kierkegaard's hope for reconciliation with Olsen. The extent to which a biographical reading is relevant in the case of Kierkegaard remains a topic of disagreement. In "A First and Last Explanation", appended to Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846), he asked readers not to attribute the claims and views of his pseudonyms to him directly. The pseudonyms are distinct voices and their views are generally treated as those of the pseudonyms and not Kierkegaard himself. Fear and Trembling is accordingly meant to be read as the work of Johannes de silentio rather than Kierkegaard.
The pseudonym selected for Fear and Trembling, Johannes de silentio, reflects one of the central themes of Abraham's faith—its incommunicability. This ties into Problema III, which focuses on Abraham's inability to explain his situation to Sarah, Eliezer, or Isaac because it is not grounded in and therefore cannot be judged by universal ethics.