Editing Fear and Trembling (section)

=== Was It Ethically Defensible for Abraham to Conceal His Undertaking from Sarah, from Eliezer, and from Isaac? ===
Silentio identifies the ethical with the universal and the universal with the disclosed (i.e., that which is spoken about, revealed, or confessed). He explains that Abraham cannot be acting in accordance with the universal because he obeys God's command silently without explaining the purpose of his journey to his wife, his servants, or Isaac.

Problem 3 is the longest of the text and introduces the categories of the [[Aesthetics|aesthetic]] and the [[Demon|demonic]]. Silentio claims that aesthetics rewards hiddenness while the ethical demands disclosure. Silentio then postulates that faith mimics aesthetics in its hiddenness but that it is ultimately a distinct category.

A series of [[Folklore|folkloric]] myths and tales are analyzed to explain how the dynamics of concealment and disclosure of information in these stories interact with the categories of the aesthetic, ethical, and religious, and how these tensions are resolved through [[serendipity]], [[self-sacrifice]], or the absurd.

Ultimately, Silentio persists in portraying Abraham's isolation and incommunicability. He explains that the tragic hero's sacrifice is usually mediated by some kind of cultural background or disclosure that contextualizes his actions but that Abraham possesses no such security.