Kierkegaard's Fear and TremblingWhat is a human person? How do humans relate to God? Who am I? Why do I exist?I. Soeren Kierkegaard, a famous 19th century theologian, wrote Fear and Trembling in 1843 in response to Hegelianism. Kierkegaard takes on the pseudonymous role of Jonannes de Silentio and talks about the attitude of modern people towards doubt and faith. He believes that humans are creatures entrenched in reason and doubt, but not in the same sense as Descartes, the French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Descartes doubted everything he had learned; his way of thinking is called hyperbolic or Cartesian doubt. According to his philosophy, in the world of ideas there is a sell-out; everyone has a shop (their own mind) and everything in their head is their own ideas and beliefs. Getting to a point where you doubt everything is not easy, yet humanity, as a whole, believes this is the starting point. Descartes denied himself many things to achieve such a state of being. He believed he had knowledge, while everyone else had beliefs. A belief became knowledge only when it was reasonably demonstrated through logical thinking. Kierkegaard argued that knowledge is “understandable” while faith is “absurd”. This knowledge is useless if you cannot take the “leap of faith”. When a person is bound by knowledge and rational thought, he is said to embody the universal because his individuality is canceled out for the good of society. On the other hand, the individual characterizes a relationship with himself in the case of aesthetics and a relationship with God in the religious. The latter is the highest relationship; therefore, humans will derive maximum pleasure from it. Most men during Kier... middle of paper... students must be on time based on previous attendance record. On the contrary, religion does not presuppose trust; in fact, it is much more than a trust or a belief, but a lifestyle. Many people today I would place in the aesthetic category because many of us are driven by our desires. But, in terms of living a life for the betterment of others, I very rarely see in our society a life committed to praising the Lord and achieving faith. Most people simply assume that because they believe in God, they have faith. Most people do not give themselves completely to God; the word "believe" today is used very loosely. They do not feel that their absolute duty is to God. People are selfish and normally love only themselves. In such a society, faith is not only difficult but almost quixotic, meaning that many people do not or cannot relate to God.