The Routledge Guidebook to Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling

by John Lippitt

Søren Kierkegaard is one of the key figures of nineteenth century thought, whose influence on subsequent philosophy, theology and literature is both extensive and profound. Fear and Trembling, which investigates the nature of faith through an exploration of the story of Abraham and Isaac, is one of Kierkegaard’s most compelling and widely read works. It combines an arresting narrative, an unorthodox literary structure and a fascinating account of faith and its relation to ‘the ethical’.

The Routledge Guidebook to Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling introduces and assesses:

Kierkegaard’s life and the background to Fear and Trembling, including aspects of its philosophical and theological context

The text and key ideas of Fear and Trembling, including the details of its account of faith and its connection to trust and hope

The book’s reception history, the diversity of interpretations it has been given and its continuing interest and importance

This Guidebook assumes no previous knowledge of Kierkegaard's work and will be essential reading for anyone studying the most famous text of this important thinker.

Genres: Philosophy

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 26, 2003

Reviews

[Joeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book for me functions as a reliable and useful tool to understand Kierkegaard's Fear & Trembling (FT). It very clearly summarizes and explains the key messages and content of the book, in a highly understandable way, through the use of very clear language, and a detailed interpretative assessment of some of the book's most important passages.

Thanks to this book, I think I have a clearer idea of what FT is about, and therefore has hermeneutic value.

Another technique that Lippitt uses is by comparing different secondary readings of the text, which he then contrasts with his own, by good use of analysis and argument. Herein, I think, also lies the only weakness of the book. Especially later in the book the author, for my taste, offers far too much a detailed assessment of the alleged incorrectness of other interpretations of FT, which for me didn't really help to grasp FT any further with the help of this book. Also the religious overtone become to predominant, in my view.

But with this only restriction in mind, I would very much recommend reading this book for a greater understanding of FT and Kierkegaard's philosophy in a broader sense.

[Seth Sowalskie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lippitt's commentary on Fear and Trembling is extremely helpful. I read it alongside the Hong & Hong 1983 translation of F&T, and it was crucial to working through some of the more difficult passages (e.g., Problema III). The chapters on how to interpret the overall meaning of F&T and whether Johannes de Silentio is a reliable guide to faith were quite illuminating as well, as it helped illustrate the point that Kierkegaard may have been trying to make through Johannes, which I had never seriously considered before beyond the initial surface level lessons in the book. I had a couple of quibbles with some of Lippitt's biblical usage or theological points, but on the whole this was a fantastic resource, one I will definitely be recommending to others trying to read Fear and Trembling.

[Karen Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in conjunction with the 1983 Hong/Hong translation of FT. Very helpful for context: how SK's personal life may have influenced some of the ways he wrote the text, and some clarification of finer points he makes. Also helps define the structure of the original text, which was baffling to me at first.
See my blog post at A Just Recompense for further details about the experience of reading the text with a Catherine Project reading group.

[Jen Otte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of random current-day slang mixed with Latin thrown in willy nilly for no reason. At one point a word that combined greek and latin. Ugly prose and bad sentence flow. Tons of great book recs in here. Was fooled by his introduction in which he stated that he wasn't allowed enough pages to say what he wanted to say in the manner in which he preferred only for him to turn around and be incredibly prolix and repetitive throughout. He also failed to note in the intro that this is mostly a refutation of other works concerning the entire body of Kierkegaard's and his pseudonyms' works and not just about Fear and Trembling. Good read tho. One star for the writing and another star for my recommendation. You'd probably have rated it higher if you had gotten any sleep in the last two weeks. You want to re-read it under better circumstances.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful introductory roadmap for Kierkegaard's extremely difficult to interpret _Fear and Trembling_. Covers each section in turn as well as some important topics (What is F&T all about? Is de Silentio an unreliable narrator?). Lippitt provides arguments for his own interpretations but also provides a helpful map of the most important alternatives in the literature so that the reader has an idea of what the options are and where to look to examine them further. There are some topics that I think should receive more attention (such as unconditional commitment / infinite passion) but overall very helpful.

[Iman · Rating 4 out of 5]

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