Fear and trembling
by Søren Kierkegaard · first published 1954
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Kierkegaard's retelling of Abraham and Isaac, written through a pseudonymous narrator, probes faith and paradox. Suits readers of existentialism or those wanting a philosophical take on the binding of Isaac.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…pretend They suffer what they suffer. ... something that lodged itself in my brain years ago and never left. Pessoa wrote under countless pseudonyms. He is like Kierkegaard in that respect. You might like Fear and Trembling, in fact, based on your list.
on “Ask HN: What are some good books?” ↗Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" and "Either/Or"are hard slogs, but worth it, if you like thinking about essential paradoxes, psychological responses to existentialism, and the like.
on “Ask HN: Best books on the psychology of religion?” ↗…it's lying around somewhere - in due time, I suppose. I failed an existentialism course not too long ago and it partly focused on Kierkegaard. The particular books I like from him are Works of Love and Fear and Trembling. If you are interested in more of his thinking, you might like the Danish drama film entitled Ordet (1955). Also, if you want to know more about his personal life, I liked this read: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/keeper-loves-flame-regin...
on “A touch of absurdity can help to wrap your mind around reality” ↗I used to teach Existentialism before leaving academia. As the other comment mentions Kierkegaard's "Either/Or" is worth a read, I also recommend "Fear and Trembling." The other two writers associated with this term I think are must reads are Dostoevsky and Nietzsche. The former's Notes From Underground is one of my favorite pieces of literature. I highly recommend…
on “For Camus, It Was Always Personal” ↗…Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son (it's no wonder the three major religions are called "Abrahamic"). For a deeper dive into the idea, I recommend reading Kierkegaard's retelling of this story in Fear and Trembling - to recap however, God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, they travel to mountain where Abraham binds Isaac and lifts up the knife to kill him. At the last moment, God interrupts Abraham, and a ram is…
on “Ask HN: What is your spiritual practice?” ↗This is pretty far from what I normally see on HN, but since we are here, I highly recommend Fear and Trembling by Kierkegaard.[0] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Trembling
on “Hundreds of skulls reveal massive scale of human sacrifice in Aztec capital” ↗…potlucks, not marxism) than the religion we know today—it appears you can thank Paul, in part, for that. Also, if you’re looking to desugar Christianity with empathy, I recommend Kierkegaard’s excellent Fear and Trembling. Lewis’s trilemma falls uncomfortably close to Christianity-through-proof genre of literature—I realize that’s not his intent, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve always found his The Weight of…
on “How Stoicism can help us” ↗Fine, I'll just pick some random books: Feyerabend's Against Method, Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Nietzsche's The Antichrist, Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, Descartes's Meditations, Spinoza's Ethics, Plato's dialogues, I could go on and on. Maybe you don't like all of these, but there are plenty of people who read these for fun, and all of them are taken…
…enslave another". We cannot know -- but if there is a truly transcendent, omniscient God, then He certainly would. For a more modern (more philosophically-flavored) take, I'd suggest reading Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling: he explores the binding of Isaac with the idea being to address this very question. In particular, he strongly disagrees with Kant's idea that God would simply choose to follow the categorical imperative,…
on “Stoicism's appeal to the rich and powerful (2019)” ↗I plan to reread a couple core works for myself. Of that list the ones that I’d recommend for others are: Aurelius (trans. Martin Hammond) Fear and Trembling Man’s Search for Meaning Tolstoy’s Confessions Kundera’s The Art of the Novel After doing a thorough reading of “How to Read a Book” I decided to try rereading a few books to pull more out of them. I…
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗…understand what he was trying to get across. I always try to get people to read his later works. His earlier books can drive a person crazy on one hand and his thoughts will never leave you on the other. Fear and Trembling is written from as a non-believer, Johannes DE SILENTIO, trying to understand God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. The conclusion after 160 pages? He still had no idea. That journey of thought…
on “I still love Kierkegaard” ↗…japanese people (I am a go player) and I am very interested in this culture. When I have read the books of Amélie Nothomb, it was perfectly in line with my discussions with these people. The movie and book "Fear and Trembling" are excellent illustrations of Japaneese society. I have never seen japanesse people as collectivists. I do not understant why it would be a common view in America. AFAIK, it is not a common view in…
on ““Common view” that Japanese are typically collectivists is not supported by data” ↗> Kierkegaard’s greatest illustration of this is his retelling of the story of Abraham and Isaac in Fear and Trembling (1843). Abraham is often held up as a paradigm of faith because he trusted God so much he was prepared to sacrifice his only son on his command. Kierkegaard makes us realize that Abraham acted on faith…
on “I still love Kierkegaard” ↗"Kierkegaard’s most famous book, Fear and Trembling (1843)" Makes we wonder did that inspire Hunter S Thompson to name his book "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"?
on “Kierkegaard’s Leap” ↗…Secrets to Success, Ferrazzi ----------------------------------------------------------- In my stack: Daniel-X, James Patterson; Born To Run, Christopher McDougall; The Existential Jesus, John Carroll; Fear and Trembling - Repetition, Soren Kierkegaard ----------------------------------------------------------- On the way in from Amazon: The Trusted Advisor, Maister; Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting…
on “What are you reading?” ↗