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  • Published: 1 April 1986
  • ISBN: 9780140444490
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 176

Fear and Trembling




Translated with an introduction by Alstair Hannay

Writing under the pseudonym of Johannes de silentio, Kierkegaard uses the form of a dialectical lyric to present his conception of faith. Abraham is portrayed 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. The infamous and controversial 'teleological suspension of the ethical' challenged the contemporary views of Hegel's universal moral system, and the suffering individual must alone make a choice 'on the strength of the absurd'. Kierkegaard's writings have inspired both modern Protestant theology and existentialism.

  • Published: 1 April 1986
  • ISBN: 9780140444490
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 176

Other books in the series

Maldoror and Poems
On Sparta
Love
Annals
Military Dispatches

About the author

Soren Kierkegaard

Danish-born Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-55) wrote on a wide variety of themes, including religion, psychology, and literature. He is remembered for his philosophy, which was influential in the development of 20th century existentialism. Alastair Hannay is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo. He is co-editor of the Cambridge Companion to Kierkegaard and has translated Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, The Sickness unto Death, Either/Or, and Papers and Journals for Penguin Classics.

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