What Philosophy Is

The Paradox of Faith

As you read the material for the next class, keep the questions below in mind. To answer these questions you will have to reflect critically on what you have read and possibly re-read important passages. Keep in mind that there are two basic kinds of information that you need to look for in the readings.

1. What are the main points or conclusions that an author accepts with respect to a particular issue?
2. What are the reasons or important considerations that lead the author to accept that conclusion?

For our purposes, it is information of the latter sort (2) that will be our primary concern since our most basic task is to evaluate the reasons that are offered to support accepting one possible conclusion about an issue, rather than another.

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to speak intelligently to these issues in the next class meeting. Also, it is reasonable to assume that the final exam’s questions will be drawn from these questions—particularly those in bold.

Readings:

• God, Genesis 22:1-14 (handout).
• Søren Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling (handout).

Questions:

1. In “Tuning Up”, what are the four interpretations of the story of Abraham that Kierkegaard presents? Are we supposed to believe that one of these actually happened? What is Kierkegaard up to here?
2. What does Kierkegaard mean by a “teleological suspension of the ethical” and the “temptation of the ethical”? How does the story of Abraham illustrate these?
3. Many heroes in Greek mythology have been called to sacrifice their children to their gods. What examples of this does Kierkegaard give? Are these also instances of a teleological suspension of the ethical?
4. Is Abraham a murderer?

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