Fear and Trembling

[Rachel Louise]

In November we'll be reading Soren Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling. I read this probably about a year ago so don't think I'll be re-reading myself (I still have a lot on with masters rip me) but am still looking forward to discussing it from what I remember.

Feel free to leave comments and thoughts down below.

[John]

Fine.

[Rachel Louise]

Care to elaborate?

[Brandon]

I struggled big time. Found myself looking at more outside sources than the book itself to help me understand it.

[Rachel Louise]

Brandon wrote: "I struggled big time. Found myself looking at more outside sources than the book itself to help me understand it."

This was definitely me. I jumped into this book way too fast. It's definitely something that you need to read with other articles and sources in order to access what it's really saying.

[tortoise]

I agree, I need to take more time w/this. I'm curious if anyone else was taken aback by K's statements at the start of "Speech in Praise of Abraham." He says that (1) if there's no meaning to life & emptiness is beneath everything, life would be despair, empty & devoid of comfort. He then states (2) "But for that reason it is not so," & (3) God created ... . If this is his premise, it's faulty on all three points. (1) Many people live quite happily w/o an exterior meaning to life; (2) "for that reason it is not so" is illogical, & (3) w/o a belief in God, there's no support for his following statements. Is his position elaborated & supported in the rest of the book, or does it depend on this premise? Thanks for anyone's help.

[tortoise]

Thanks for the response, this was helpful & valuable food for thought. One thought your comment provoked was, as human beings there's not a single response to coming face to face with the absurdity of human life. Anguish is one response. Not all people are the same. Just like saying the only reasonable response (the only way to provide meaning) to this anguish is faith. There are other reasonable responses, other ways to provide meaning. Some people have spent their entire life, from small children, aware of the existential dilemma. To say there is only one response sounds a little fascist. But I don't know much about Kierkegaard, which is why I need to keep working on his book. Thanks again for the help.

[tortoise]

Excellent discussion -- I like this! I'm still going to stress human individuality. We have similar responses to many situations, but different responses to an equal number of situations. Just looking at your examples -- some fear a dog bite, but others get angry at the dog or the dog's owner (yes, some say anger comes from fear, but they're still 2 different emotions). Some don't fear the dog but stand ready to take it on with no fear. Some feel sadness from loss of a loved one, but if that loved one has physically abused you all your life you may feel more relief than sorrow -- if the loved one has suffered a long, horrible, excruciatingly painful death from cancer, gratitude may be stronger than the sorrow. Some view the unknown fearfully, some see it as a wonderful challenge. Let me try an example you suggest: Do we all have a similar response when confronting the face of death? When faced with death -- a car crash, a fire, a robbery, an accident, public turmoil, & every single suicide -- people react differently. Some leap into action, some weep, some pray, some freeze, some run away, some confront. There are those who choose to confront death, police, fire fighters, sky divers, soldiers, gear-free mountain climbers, 30,000+ suicides in Japan every year, & there are some who would never ever dream of doing these things. Since all these people are facing death, facing their own mortality, I see the same thing in those facing their own mortality in an absurd world. Some may be anxious, fearful, sad, but others will see it as a wonderful, joyous challenge & experience. Some will face it head on, bravely with exuberance & curiosity, in all its various shapes & ramifications. Yes all comes to nothing in the end, that's obvious, but we have a lifetime to make it wonderful, full of joy & fun & love & perhaps to do good. To me this is a fascinating beautiful thing, each human being is so different, each person is an infinite universe inside themselves to get to know. Each faces the absurdity of life in their own way. There are so many directions life can go, one makes the best of it & enjoys the wonder & beauty that they can, whether in the streets of Paris or a refugee camp. There is love with one or many, with family friends, work, exploration of the inner self or the outer world. Life isn't always wonderful, no one has a perfect life, but it's so much opportunity & it can be. I don't see the need for faith in any of this, I don't see the need to be negative or fearful -- we all die, we see a lot of people die in our lives, but what a great opportunity & challenge before death. I don't see the point in being miserable about something natural & inevitable. Since I was a small child I knew family members & neighbors who died, & knew I too would die someday. Sometimes I may have wanted to. Thank you for this discussion, even tho we may disagree, I really enjoyed this.

[Mike]

Here is my May 14th three-cents' worth: https://www.facebook.com/newjahb/ Have a good summer.