Fear and Trembling

S. Kierkegaard is one of the founders of 20th century philosophy, a precursor to existentialism. At the center of his philosophical reflections, Kierkegaard places the problem of the individuality of the singular - the unique and the only - human being, opposing universal and objective foundations of human existence. According to Kierkegaard, unlike animals, man is not a generic but an existing being. In this paradigm, the philosopher analyzes three spheres of human existence - aesthetic, ethical, and religious. Historically, the first stage is aesthetic, when a person is consumed by pleasures, obsessed with passions, becoming a prisoner of their own aspirations. The outcome of this is saturation and a sense of the meaninglessness of existence, accompanied by despair. The second stage of human life is ethical, which is opposed to the aesthetic. Its foundation is the awareness of responsibility and duty of each person towards their kind, towards humanity. The main requirement for a person becomes the demand to become oneself. The third stage of human development, opposing the first two, is religious. Faith is the highest passion in man. Perhaps, in any generation, there will be many people who have not even reached it, but not a single one who could go beyond it... However, even for those who have not yet reached faith, life presents enough challenges, and with an honest approach to them, their life will not remain unfruitful, even if it does not resemble the life of those who have understood and attained the greatest - FAITH. Faith is the foundation of the highest stage of human development, that is, the stage of existence. To examine the source of faith, its specificity - is the task of the treatise Fear and Trembling. Kierkegaard introduces the main character - the knight of faith - biblical Abraham and seeks to show the existence of Abraham and his actions with the heart. The examination of the faith personified by Abraham allows one to see his unique individuality, bearing wonder.