Editing Fear and Trembling (section)

=== Is there a [[Teleology|Teleological]] Suspension of the Ethical? ===
Silentio identifies the ethical with the universal, which he defines as that which is incumbent upon all people at all times. [[Sin]] is when an individual asserts himself as an [[Particular|individual]] over and against the universal. Silentio asserts that faith is a paradox whereby an individual transcends the universal without sinning. Silentio explains that Abraham must occupy the category of faith, because without doing so, he would not be the father of the faith.

Silentio explains that Abraham's relationship to God during the [[Binding of Isaac|binding]] cannot be logically understood or mediated away. He contrasts Abraham with three other figures—[[Agamemnon]], [[Jephthah]], and [[Lucius Junius Brutus|Brutus]]—who similarly had to sacrifice or impose capital punishment on their offspring but are nevertheless called "tragic heroes," not knights of faith.

Silentio explains that tragic heroes have a [[middle term]] that acts as their [[telos]], or purpose, when transgressing the ethical; that is, in transgressing against the ethical, they do so for a higher, yet understandable ethical purpose. Silentio asserts that Abraham inhabits the paradox of faith because he does not act for any purpose other than his own, and Silentio further identifies Abraham's purpose with God's purpose.