Abstract
Soren Kierkegaard’s philosophical work in Fear and Trembling probes into the depths of the religious subject, or one could say, religious subjectivity as a concept. He does this by propagating the Judeo-Christian understanding of the patriarch Abraham and his decision to sacrifice his son Isaac. This is arguably done on the supposition that he was operating within the realm of a passionate faith induced for God. The perimeters of faith, concession to an ultimate and absolute moral authority as well as the confines of a certain kind of ethics are of utmost importance throughout this deeply metaphorical text. However, Kierkegaard’s thought opened the way for many types of critics to come along for the challenge. Emannuel Levinas, a Lithuanian Jewish philosopher has voiced his disdain for certain inclinations in Kierkegaard’s ideas, as they feature contentious thoughts on faith with regard to its particular and universal implications. Kierkegaard’s metaphorical literary style provides an opening for interesting academic avenues to be investigated. Therefore, by exploring the instances in which he propagates Abraham as an archetypal figure and a true ‘knight of faith’, we can begin to understand the ways in which Levinas and his acute criticisms of Kierkegaard have ethical value that acknowledges a similar kind of moral weight. Both individuals were greatly concerned with religious ethics and can rightfully comment on the depths of religious subjectivity, or rather what it means to be a religious person in relation not only to God, but the other or ‘neighbour’-to use their language.
Details
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Theme
KEYWORDS
ETHICS, PHILOSOPHY, SIKH THEOLOGY, MONISM, METAPHYSICS
