About this title: In this rich and resonant work, Soren Kierkegaard reflects poetically and philosophically on the biblical story of God's command to Abraham, that he sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of faith. Was Abraham's proposed action morally and religiously justified or murder? Is there an absolute duty to God? Was Abraham justified in remaining silent? In ...
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780141023939ISBN:0141023937
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 160 pages. (160 pages) following the overwhelming success of great ideas' launch, with a million sold in the uk alone, penguin now publish a further 20 short, astonishing works of non-fiction drawn from the most remarkable writing of the past two and a half thousand years of human thinking. (Paperback) read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780141023939ISBN:0141023937
Description: Paperback book in good condition at sensible price. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: PENGUIN
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780141023939ISBN:0141023937
Description: Published by PENGUIN in 2005, paperback, small size, both covers fine, internally very good. Shipped from UK. Delivery is usually 2-3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail. read more
Description: Acceptable. ACCEPTABLE with noted wear to cover and pages. Binding intact. May contain highlighting, inscriptions or notations. We offer a no-hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders generally ship by the next business day. Default Text. read more
Description: Good. GOOD with average wear to cover and pages. We offer a no-hassle guarantee on all our items. Orders generally ship by the next business day. Default Text. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Wilder Publications, Limited
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781604593181ISBN:1604593180
Description: New. BRAND NEW and ready for dispatch. Delivery normally within 4/7 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
Description: Good. 0140444491 Book is a rather typical used paperback. Pages age tanned. Underscores. Binding is fine, Cover appears fine. PRICED ACCORDINGLY FOR GREAT VALUE! Your satisfaction is of course guaranteed. We ship the same or next day. read more
Description: Good. Book shows minor use. Cover and Binding have minimal wear and the pages have only minimal creases. A tradition of southern quality and service. All books guaranteed at the Atlanta Book Company. read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, E Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780143037576ISBN:0143037579
Description: Good. Ex-Library Ex library book with stamps stickers and some wear to edges, a good reading copy text is clear of any markings or highlightings. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classic, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780140444490ISBN:0140444491
Description: Good. No Jacket as Issued. Light wear to the covers with mild page toning. A few pencil underlinings and margin notes. Otherwise a sturdy copy. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780140444490ISBN:0140444491
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Clean and unmarked. Intro starts with quote by Bob Dylan: God said to Abraham: go kill me a son....165 pages. Cover shows detail of Michelangelo's Sacrifice of Isaac. Text in Danish, English. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 160 p. Penguin Classics. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Very Good. Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD Country = UNITED KINGDOM
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780140444490ISBN:0140444491
Description: BRAND NEW PAPERBACK. 176 pages. (176 pages) presents abraham as a great man, who chose to sacrifice his son, isaac, in the face of conflicting expectations and in defiance of any conceivable ethical standard. (Paperback) read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 2006-05-30
ISBN-13:9780143037576ISBN:0143037579
Description: Good. All books in Acceptable-Good condition. Books may NOT include Online Access Codes (InfoTrac, MyEconLab). Books MAY contain highliting/bent pages. We ship M-F. read more
"Faith picks up where thinking leaves off. This is of course the same sentiment lamented by those frustrated with religion; Christianity, they say, creates pews of people who have given up thinking. Faith can not be described with logic, following a proof of steps from action to action. Like CS Lewis did time and again, Kierkegaard asks the question better than any non-Christian ever has. If Abraham's actions are borderline insane, why do we call him great?
Kierkegaard suggests that Abraham knew he would get Isaac back. Kierkegaard does not answer my questions about faith, or teach me how to be faithful. He shows himself a man who struggles with the same questions, one who is deeply rooted in logic yet who devotes himself completely to faith.
A favorite quote (p. 62):
...I would answer: "By no means I have faith. I am a shrewd fellow by nature, such as always have great difficulty making the movement of faith, though I wouldn't attach any importance in itself to a difficulty which, by overcoming it, brings a shrewd fellow no further than the most ordinary and simple-minded person has already reached without great difficulty.""
"-- "You, to whom my speech is addressed, was that the case with you? When you saw, far off, the heavy fate approaching, did you not say to the mountains, 'hide me,' to the hills, 'fall on me'? Or if you were stronger, did your feet nevertheless not drag along the way? Did they not hanker, as it were, to get back into the old tracks? When you were called, did you answer, or did you not? Perhaps softy in a whisper? Not so Abraham, gladly, boldly, trustingly he answered out loud 'here I am.'""
"The theme of the book comes down to what, I think, is the clearest and most concise statement in the entire work. "Faith begins precisely where thinking leaves off." It could only be through such faith and sophistry that one could uphold Abraham as an example of what faith can accomplish.
In the opening lines of, A speech in Praise of Abraham, Kierkegaard tells us that despair is all that is left when faith is lacking. Acceptance of the Abrahamic leap of faith that all voices that present themselves as god justify any and all actions, that to me is despair.
"Abraham is the greatest, says Kierkegaard, and "the highest passion in a human being is faith"(Kierkegaard 144). This is wrong. Christ is greatest, and though faith, hope and love endure, "the greatest of these is love"(1 Corinthians 13:13). For this reason, I find Kierkegaard's method in Fear and Trembling for building a Christian ethic utterly puzzling. Kierkegaard starts from the wrong place, taking signs that point towards Christ and love and making them the point. Fear and Trembling is an interesting book in many ways, but it certainly will not, as my friend promised, completely alter my understanding of morality.
I do not pretend that I fully understand Fear and Trembling. Much of what Kierkegaard has to say is put into Hegelian terms, and since I've never read Hegel this makes understanding difficult. I can gather from context the general terms of what is being said, but I ultimately feel like I've come away with an outline of what Kierkegaard said, and not the full depth of it. Furthermore, Kierkegaard also relies on Hegelian conclusions, and uses them as givens in his argument. Unfortunately, since I don't know Hegel's arguments, these premises are hardly givens to me. Like I said though, to my thinking he starts from the wrong place so thoroughly that his conclusions cannot help but miss the mark.
What I do understand of Kierkegaard I find immensely disturbing. The highest life, that of faith, is one of dread, horror and isolation. What is more, the Knight of Faith (as Kierkegaard calls him) must do whatever God asks of him without testing to see if it really is God asking, without seeking the wisdom of others, and without any reference at all to universal morality. The man of faith then, in Kierkegaard's terms, is the monster my atheists friends think him to be.
I should say, however, that I am not completely disdainful of Fear and Trembling. Kierkegaard starts the book with several retellings of the story of Abraham and Isaac, subtly altering the story in ways that thereby change the meaning. This part of the book is enjoyable, and he does the same with various stories and myths throughout the book.
Ultimately, any student of philosophy should read this book because it is of such massive importance historically. Kierkegaard in many ways fathered the existential movement, and he certainly gave birth to Christian existentialism. This was one of the reasons that I read the book, because as much as I disagree with existentialism, I find it intriguing. Also, I have a friend who is a firm Christian existentialist, and I'd really like to understand where his ideas come from. Thankfully, I think I'm one step closer to that point now."
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