Kierkegaard's Knight of Faith in Fear and Trembling
This essay examines Søren Kierkegaard's philosophy of faith as developed in Fear and Trembling, focusing on his distinction between the "Knight of Faith" and the "Knight of Infinite Resignation." Using the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, Kierkegaard argues that true faith is an internal, joyful state rather than mere outward obedience. The essay explores how Abraham exemplifies "faith by virtue of the absurd," how Kierkegaard's use of pseudonyms and personal melancholy shaped his philosophy, and how the concept of divinely given gifts connects to the ethical paradoxes of living faithfully in a modern world.
- Introduction: Faith as an Inner State: Faith defined as internal, not external obedience
- The Knight of Faith Versus the Knight of Infinite Resignation: Contrasting two types of spiritual commitment
- Faith by Virtue of the Absurd: Abraham's blind obedience as supreme faith
- Kierkegaard's Pseudonyms and Personal Melancholy: Authorial disguise and biographical influence
- Anxiety, Modern Life, and the Abraham Narrative: Modern anxiety explored through Biblical narrative
- Gifts, Absurdity, and the Higher Law: Divine gifts, ethics, and the absurd world
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds an abstract philosophical concept — inward faith — in a single, sustained textual example (Abraham and Isaac), making the argument concrete and traceable throughout.
- It productively contrasts two related figures (the Knight of Faith and the Knight of Infinite Resignation) rather than defining one in isolation, which sharpens the reader's understanding of both.
- The paper connects Kierkegaard's philosophical claims to his personal biography, showing how lived experience informs abstract thought — a strong move in philosophical essay writing.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper uses close reading of a primary philosophical text, incorporating a direct quotation from Fear and Trembling and situating it within the argument rather than letting it stand alone. This models proper integration of source material: quote, then interpret, then connect to the broader thesis.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a thesis about faith as an inner state, then builds through contrast (Knights of Faith vs. Resignation), theoretical deepening (the absurd), authorial context (pseudonyms and melancholy), and a narrative analysis of the Abraham story. It closes by linking Kierkegaard's earlier discourse on gifts to the essay's central claim — a tidy thematic return that gives the argument a satisfying arc. Approximately 800 words; suitable as a focused undergraduate philosophy essay.
Introduction: Faith as an Inner State
In his philosophical classic Fear and Trembling, the nineteenth-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard conceptualizes faith as an inner rather than an outer state of being, thinking, and feeling. The philosopher retells the story of Abraham and Isaac from a variety of perspectives, stressing that the "real" Abraham acted as he did with absolute faith that God would save his son — unlike the false Abraham of resignation, who believed that God was going to take his son, though he must nonetheless obey God's terrible will. Kierkegaard suggests that a person who was not "of faith" would either refuse or comply only in despair. The resigned person might commit to sacrificing Isaac with sorrow in his heart, believing his son was doomed. But the true man, or "knight" of faith, Kierkegaard argues, knows inwardly — both emotionally and intellectually — that God will find a way to save the son, even while apparently asking the impossible and the unethical of the patriarch. For Kierkegaard, faith is therefore not simply an external act of obedience. True faith is a joyful and internal act of adhering to God's request for obedience, whatever that request may be — even if it appears unethical on its surface.
The Knight of Faith Versus the Knight of Infinite Resignation
Kierkegaard uses the example of Abraham sacrificing Isaac because he sees the Biblical patriarch as an excellent illustration of a man who appears to be about to sin outwardly, yet does so with goodness in his heart. In modern life, he observes, it is hard to differentiate the good from the bad: "The knights of the infinite resignation are easily recognizable — their walk is light and bold. But they who carry the treasure of faith are likely to disappoint, for externally they have a striking resemblance to bourgeois philistinism, while infinite resignation, like faith, deeply disdains."[1] On the surface, it is nearly impossible to distinguish the knights of infinite resignation from the knights of faith. Only the heart and God can tell.
Kierkegaard openly admits that he himself is a knight not of faith but of resignation — he would have been afraid, as would most fathers. But Abraham was a knight of infinite faith. Abraham joyfully consigned himself to obey God's spoken will, even if adhering to this request cast him out of his social community and even out of his own conception of what is ethical. Kierkegaard thus distinguishes the "Knight of Faith" from the "Knight of Infinite Resignation" by the faithful knight's willingness to engage with God's demands from a hopeful heart — to accept the absurdity and occasionally unethical character of existence. Abraham obeys not through mindless, robotic motion, but through great mental and emotional strength, consciously deciding to act against his personal and social ethical code. Unlike the resigned knight who despairs and sacrifices Isaac, the Knight of Faith is brave in a different and more profound way.
Faith by Virtue of the Absurd
As Paul Strathern explains in Kierkegaard in 90 Minutes, a truly faithful knight adheres to some impossible or absurd goal — in this case, God's command that Abraham sacrifice his son. It is here that Fear and Trembling sets forth Kierkegaard's concept of "faith by virtue of the absurd." Abraham is not only a man of resignation and outward obedience. It would be meaningless for Abraham to obey in his sacrifice with blind will and no belief in God. But because Abraham obeys with the correct inner mindset, he becomes a kind of father of faith — of internal rather than external faith. By obeying with the right sort of mind, he becomes the supreme example of faith, even while engaging in seemingly absurd actions.[2]
Works Cited
Bretall, Robert. A Kierkegaard Anthology. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973.
Kierkegaard, Søren. "Fear and Trembling." From Kierkegaard's Writings. 26 volumes. Edited by H. V. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978–1998.
O'Hara, Shelley. Kierkegaard Within Your Grasp. London: Wiley, 2003.
Robinson, Dave. Introducing Kierkegaard. London: Icon Books Ltd, 2003.
Strathern, Paul. Kierkegaard in 90 Minutes. London: Ivan R. Dee, Inc., 2001.
[1] Søren Kierkegaard, "Fear and Trembling," from Kierkegaard's Writings (26 volumes), edited by H. V. Hong (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978–1998), p. 38.
[2] Paul Strathern, Kierkegaard in 90 Minutes (London: Ivan R. Dee, Inc., 2001).
[3] Dave Robinson, Introducing Kierkegaard (London: Icon Books Ltd, 2003).
[4] Shelley O'Hara, Kierkegaard Within Your Grasp (London: Wiley, 2003).
[5] Robert Bretall, A Kierkegaard Anthology (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973), pp. 118–120.
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