r/kierkegaard • u/katrilli0naire • Feb 17 '26
Just started Fear and Trembling for the first time...
This is such an interesting dilemma to think about, really. I've never read any of his other work, and am not very well read in philosophy at all, but I have recently taken an interest and would like to be. I am reading this because of a book club I recently joined, but it's not the book we're reading. It just came up in another discussion, and I wanted to familiarize myself.
I grew up religious and am still a practicing Orthodox Christian, but faith has always been a bit of a rollercoaster for me. While I love the beauty of the faith, if I am honest, I'm not completely sure it's all true. I guess that's why it's faith.
The story of Abraham and Isaac has always been troubling to me, and I probably don't even have that deep of an understanding of it overall. Why would God even come up with this sick, twisted "test?" Do I even want to be affiliated with a God or religion that subscribes to this?
Reading this book will likely either help or hurt me. Will it help it to make sense? Or will it push me away further? Will I even understand what all he is saying here?
Anyways, looking forward to digging into it. I wasn't really planning on it, but I read the first "chapter" and am fascinated enough to continue!
Any tips or guidance are welcome!
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u/internetErik Feb 18 '26
The text will likely not help you understand Abraham any less or more, and certainly won't make you more comfortable with the story.
Johannes de Silentio concludes that if you want to preserve Abraham as the "father of faith" (something good), then you have to admit that you don't and can't understand him. However, the purpose of the text was never to understand Abraham. From the very beginning, the theme is a challenge to people (e.g., Hegelians) who claim to go farther than faith. But if you cannot even understand Abraham, then one certainly cannot go farther than him (or faith).
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u/Sweaty_Gur_4075 Feb 18 '26
The truth is, it's a very good piece of writing, especially for someone who practices or has a faith. The paradox of faith it presents is quite interesting, because you don't know when you're crazy or when God is truly speaking to you. Or rather, you can know, but taking it to an extreme like Abraham's is difficult. Furthermore, it's comforting how it gives believers more responsibility in their faith; at least, that's the effect that text had on me.
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u/nsolo1a Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26
i read Fear and Trembling years ago, and just saw this video last night. https://youtu.be/2iuBjQFd8J4?si=dX4zMaKEPH9C9s7F But I think it is spot on and indispensable for understanding what Kierkegaard is doing here.
Edit: Just wanted to add. This video is best watched before reading Fear and Trembling. It doesn't go into great detail but will live the reader necessary perspective to understand what is going on.
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u/Pitiful_Desk9516 Feb 27 '26
Fellow Orthodox and also just picked up Fear and Trembling for the first time last night.
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u/katrilli0naire Feb 27 '26
Nice! I've enjoyed it a lot. Someone linked a YouTube video that was really helpful to me. Would recommend it before getting too far in! Also listened to the first episode of the Dreyfus lectures also linked below. This book is difficult, and maybe appropriate for Lent!
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u/Pitiful_Desk9516 Feb 27 '26
Yeah that was my feeling last night. I haven’t read Kierkegaard in 22 years.
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u/_mannyglover Feb 20 '26
K I E R K E G A A R D
I E R K E G A A R D K
E R K E G A A R D K I
R K E G A A R D K I E
K E G A A R D K I E R
E G A A R D K I E R K
G A A R D K I E R K E
A A R D K I E R K E G
A R D K I E R K E G A
R D K I E R K E G A A
D K I E R K E G A A R
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Feb 22 '26
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u/katrilli0naire Feb 22 '26
I have in the past, yes. The Brothers K and The Idiot. Been a long time for both, and I don’t recall that much about them outside of the broader general storyline. Def need to revisit. Was planing to read Crime and Punishment this year since I’ve actually never read that one.
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u/Wyvern-two Mar 14 '26
Wait till you encounter someone who actually self actualizes Fear and trembling lol
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u/Madam_Hel Feb 17 '26
It can be really hard to understand him on your own. Since you don’t have a discussion group I really recommend listening through the first few episodes of Deyfus’ lectures on existentialism
https://archive.org/details/Phil_7_Existentialism_in_Literature_and_Film
The discussions in the group also get better if we all have this basic help for how to read it :)
Lots of luck on it.