Where the Truth Lies
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Pickwick Publications

Where the Truth Lies

Pseudonymity, Complicity, and Critique in Fear and Trembling

by Shane R. Cudney

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Paperback · ISBN 9781606086551 · Published: Nov 23, 2021
ISBN
9781606086551
Imprint
Pickwick Publications
Published
November 23, 2021 Nov 23, 2021
Pages
200
Audience
General / Adult
Subjects
ChristianityReligious Ethics

About this book

Johannes de Silentio, the pseudonymous author of Fear and Trembling, concludes that faith is "absurd" (irrational), and therefore lies beyond the scope of reason. But if we ascribe authorship ultimately to Kierkegaard, as is common practice, we must conclude that he himself is an irrationalist. Given the myriad of competing voices throughout Kierkegaard's writings, this seems highly questionable at best.If, however, we take the pseudonymous author strictly at his authorial word, it changes the shape and dynamic of the text inviting us to read it, instead, as a "thought experiment." In this way, the text demonstrates both the absurdity and sin of reason in its bid to fully grasp the mystery of faith on its own rational terms.

Praise for this book

“Who can deny that Fear and Trembling looms large in the Kierkegaardian imagination? Many readers assume that this is Søren’s last and best word on faith. But it is not his last word, or his best word. It is not even his word. Cudney dwells with this text, wrestling above all with the challenges posed by the pseudonymous authorship. He knows that the pseudonymous nature is not peripheral to the book. It is the key to its successes and its failures. Cudney combines intellectual rigor with personal engagement, pointed critique with generosity of spirit. He is existentially invested in the world of Fear and Trembling and its authorship. Surely, the Master would be proud.”

Stephen Backhouse, author of Kierkegaard’s Critique of Christian Nationalism and Kierkegaard: A Single Life

About the author

Shane R. Cudney
Shane R. Cudney received his PhD from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands (in a joint program with The Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Canada).
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