Editing Fear and Trembling (section)

{{Short description|1843 philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard}}

{{other uses|Fear and Trembling (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = Fear and Trembling
| title_orig    = Frygt og Bæven
| translator    =
| image         = Frygt og Bæven.jpg
| caption       = First edition title page
| author        = [[Søren Kierkegaard]]
| illustrator   =
| cover_artist  =
| country       = [[Denmark]]
| language      = [[Danish language|Danish]]
| series        = First authorship (Pseudonymous)
| genre         = [[Christianity]], [[philosophy]], [[theology]]
| publisher     =
| release_date  = October 16, 1843
| english_release_date = 1919 – first translation {{citation needed|date=April 2019}}
| media_type    =
| pages         = ~200
| isbn          =978-0140444490
| preceded_by   = [[Two Upbuilding Discourses, 1843]]
| followed_by   = [[Three Upbuilding Discourses]]
| wikisource    = Fear and Trembling
}}

'''''Fear and Trembling''''' ({{langx|da|Frygt og Bæven}}) is a philosophical work by [[Søren Kierkegaard]], published in 1843 under the pseudonym ''Johannes de silentio'' ([[Latin]] for ''John of the Silence''). The title is a reference to [[Fear and trembling (biblical phrase)|a line]] from [[Philippians 2|Philippians 2:12]], which says to "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling." The Philippians verse is sometimes thought to reference [[Psalm 55|Psalm 55:5]], which says, "Fear and trembling came upon me."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://biblehub.com/psalms/55-5.htm|title = Psalm 55:5 Fear and trembling to grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me}}</ref>

The work is an extended meditation<ref>"''Fear and Trembling'' comprises a sustained meditation on the Hebrew patriarch Abraham, whom Johannes recommends to his readers for urgent reconsideration. His avowed aim in doing so is to mobilize Abraham in the service of his campaign to address the spiritual crisis that afflicts European (or at least Danish) modernity." Daniel Conway, "Introduction," in ''Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling": A Critical Guide'', ed. Daniel Conway, Cambridge Critical Guides (Cambridge University Press, 2015), 2.</ref> on [[Genesis 22]], also known as the [[binding of Isaac]]. Silentio attempts to understand Abraham's internal psychological state during his three-and-a-half-day journey to [[Moriah]]. The text attempts to demonstrate how it is not easy to understand Abraham's actions through [[Ethics|ethical]] categories like [[Sittlichkeit]] or the [[Universal (metaphysics)|universal]]. Instead, Silentio posits that Abraham can only be understood through a new category called [[Theology of Søren Kierkegaard|faith]].

''Fear and Trembling'' speaks of many of Kierkegaard's most well-known concepts, such as the [[Absurdism|absurd]], [[knight of faith]], [[Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard|single individual]], [[Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard|teleological suspension of the ethical]], [[Philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard|three stages]], [[tragic hero]], and so on.