Fear And Trembling By Kiierkegaard

Eliezer lost many things during the holocaust, including most his freedoms. This includes his freedom from fear, and his freedom from want.

Faith, defined as a strong belief in something which cannot be proven, has been argued over countless generations. Still, even without proof, individuals worldwide hold true to their faith each day. After studying faith and religion in texts written by scholars with varying backgrounds, it is easy to see faith is something which is widely disputed. Comparison of Sigmund Freud’s The Future of an Illusion and Paul Tillich’s Dynamics of Faith, fully displays the discrepancies in points of view on the function of faith, as well as the necessity of faith, in society; while the comparison of Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and Karl Marx’s “on the Future of Religion,” demonstrate both similarities and differences

How does the individual assure himself that he is justified? In Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, Abraham, found in a paradox between two ethical duties, is confronted with this question. He has ethical duties to be faithful to God and also to his son, Isaac. He believes that God demands him to sacrifice Isaac. But, Abraham, firmly adhering to his faith, submitted to what he believed was the will of God. By using his perspective and that of his alternative guise, Johannes de Silentio, Kierkegaard concentrates on the story of Abraham in such a way that his audience must choose between two extremes. Either Abraham is insane or he is justified in saying he will kill Isaac.

Religion often holds a huge amount of significance in one’s life. Since it requires lots of time and patience, some people lose their faith when confronted with a tough situation. When a population becomes persecuted or executed for their beliefs, this becomes especially noticeable. In the Holocaust, a number of Jews began to question their faith, and departed from the religion as a whole. In the memoir Night, Elie Wiesel obscures the distinctions between his father and God, displays an opening void, and shows the misunderstanding of his belief in religion to express the loss of faith and the role that the spiritual and physical body possess in retaining religion.

Fear is often characterized as an irrational sense of negativity toward the unknown or the unlikeable. In the eyes of many Americans, the majority of whom proclaim their Christian beliefs, this sensation is considered unavoidable. Marilynne Robinson argues in her article “Fear”, published by The New York Review of Books in 2015, that “...first, contemporary America is full of fear. And second, fear is not a Christian habit of mind” (Robinson 1). In other words, it is ‘unchristian’ to fear. In both the beginning and conclusion, she clearly expresses credibility through her extensive credentials and strong emotional arguments; however, this is overshadowed by the wordiness, sarcasm, and lack of

There is no philosophical individual if there is no leap towards word of mouth. Kierkegaard exemplifies such mocking rhapsodies in his piece “Fear and Trembling”. Scattered within are multiple insults shot at individuals whom he wills deserving of it. Breezily crucifying ill-mannered beliefs, and rendering hopeless their application, Kierkegaard makes his first deprecatory stop at the gate of objective and speculative philosophy. Objective thinkers are swerved by Kierkegaard as he states “ When a cellar-dweller plays this game everyone thinks it is ridiculous...ridiculous for the greatest man in the world to do it.” (Kierkegaard 32). A conclusion can be drawn that the philosopher sees objective values as a tool with which existence can be understood an incorrect and confusing fantasy for “who is to write or complete such a system ?” (Kierkegaard 29). Declaring the objective thinkers self-equating of one to the whole, a method attainable by any man and comical in his eyes. His criticism of the aforementioned scholars doesn 't stop here as he follows with a like-minded observation of objective Christianity. He preludes that individuals seeking to understand Christianity through objective evidence, are not true believers for “ Herein lies the scholar’s exalted equanimity as well as the comedy of his parrot-like pedantry.” (Kierkegaard 34) The man who attains faith in this manner must remain mindful of the dragon at the door which waits to devour it (Kierkegaard 35). Kierkegaard

In Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Kierkegaard differentiates between the subject as the knower, and the world (object) as the known: the only way we know the world is through ourselves. Kierkegaard emphasizes the importance of "how" the subject is related to the truth,

We all think children are all innocent and cute, but is that really true? We always give excuses for children’s misconduct, distracting ourselves from the real truth. Kids are capable of terrible things that adults quickly ignore. Children can be very scary because of their capabilities that most adults believe to be innocent mistakes. One story that explores this fear is Ray Bradbury’s “The Man Upstairs.”

Fear is a feeling induced by experience, perceived danger, or watching a frightening traumatic accident. The fear responses arise from the perception of danger and ultimately a change in behaviour, such as fleeing, or hiding or from perceived traumatic events. Every person has fears and different fears may be different adaptations that have been useful in our evolutionary past. I have fears too, and sometime, I feel embarrassed to intersperse my fear with others.

I. Soeren Kierkegaard, a famous theologian of the 19th Century, wrote Fear and Trembling in 1843 in response to Hegelianism. Kierkegaard takes on the pseudonymous role of Jonannes de Silentio and speaks on modern peoples' attitudes toward doubt and faith. He believes humans are creatures entrenched in reason and doubt but not in the same sense as Descartes, a French mathematician, scientist and philosopher. Descartes doubted everything he had ever learned; his way of thinking is called hyperbolic or Cartesian doubt. According to his philosophy, within the world of ideas there is clearance sale; everybody has a shop

Kierkegaard’s position on faith is represented with the Knight of infinite resignation and the Knight of faith. The Knight of faith is regarded as the one who believes in that which is absurd. For, he is the knight that is able to believe in the things that are

Starting with Kierkegaard, it is best to understand that he has a deep fulfillment to God and that he feels is the absolute. This absolute is to live in the realm of a paradox and that paradox is proving the existence of God and experiencing it for yourself. To understand this is to go through the different stages, of aesthetic, moral and religious. The aesthetic is all about the individual and focuses on oneself as an individual. The moral is having to be antagonistic towards yourself in

Sadness, guilt, and fear are some of the most negative emotions that humanity can experience, however they are also the strongest. Edgar Allan Poe, a nineteenth century author and poet, is known primarily for his use of these emotions, as well as the results that may come from these emotions, such as substance abuse, depression, and death. However, the ability to write such elegant, sophisticated works that delve into the very dark recesses of the human mind reflects greatly upon the author himself. Repetitive themes found both in Poe’s stories and in his life deliver insight on the inspiration for this author’s stories. Poe uses themes of death, illness, and depression in order to reflect his own experiences within his writing.

In his famous work Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard declares that “no person has a right to delude others into the belief that faith is something of no great significance, or that it is an easy matter, whereas it is the greatest and most difficult of all things.” The difficulty of faith lies in the requirement of sacrifice. The story of Abraham’s near sacrifice of his beloved son, Isaac, is what Kierkegaard utilizes to demonstrate how costly faith in God is. Here is a man, who after seventy years of waiting for God’s promise of offspring finally received his son, is commanded by God to slay his promised son with no stated reason for doing so. Kierkegaard, in attempting to experience what Abraham might have experienced in those moments, cries, “Now all is lost, God demands Isaac, I shall sacrifice him, and with him all my joy – but for all that, God is love and will remain so for me.” What bold words! The cost

As Mark Twain said, “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” Mary Oliver in her poem embraces the same idea that Mark Twain presents in his quote; she is no longer afraid of death because she embraces life fully and accepts the fact that death will come, and when it does come she will be proud of her life and all that she has accomplished. Oliver’s use of symbolism, personification, repetition, and alliteration throughout the poem assists in the meaning of the poem – that death is certain but should not be feared but rather embraced and used as a tool to fully live ones life. When death comes is a poem about Oliver anticipating the arrival of death in a myriad of ways. Oliver captures the innate curiosity humans have regarding death. She also regards life as precious, and hopes like many others that when she dies she can be happy with the way she lived her life without doubts and regrets.