Comparing Two Opposing Thoughts from Kierkegaard's "Fear and Trembling" and Camus' "The Fall"

    Since the protagonists and writers are strongly correlated, I will consider them interchangeably. Kierkegaard describes the spiritual journey of a man in three stages: aesthetical, morality, religious. Man discovers the love, lives in the state of melancholy, and begins to search for happiness. He finds a way of reaching to eternity by resigning finite. Then in the second stage of morality, he learns to be master upon his fate by making rational choices and become a part of universal unity. Kierkegaard defines morality as general; namely, it concerns the community and rules it as a whole. Then, he compares the tragic hero and knight of faith; he emphasizes harmony between morality and religion in the case of a tragic hero. Therefore, it is easier to sacrifice for society's sake compare to Abraham's instance. Because Abraham confronts the dilemma of the conflict between faith(religion) and morality. To transfer the third "religious" stage, he claims, one should first resign. However, faith is a compeller, and everybody cannot accomplish it since it requires resolution and devotion. Both Camus and Kierkegaard approve that the world comprises anguish and indifference despite the profound starvation of human towards meaning, as Berthold mentions. However, the same manner ends with seemingly very different reactions: revolt and faith. There are differences between the two perspectives. Camus defines broad sense absurdity unexpectedly arise from seeking for meaning, the empty and indifferent universe, and the existence of death. But he criticizes the Kierkegaard's solution of fate. He says that faith is an escape from the necessity of being human and feeling the anguish, but one should accept the absurd and revolt because searching help is inadmissible weakness, on the contrary, creating own values and accomplishing to live on one's own is only admirable behavior. Hoping for another world and promises, and escape from reality is philosophical suicide. However, from Kierkegaard's side, it is the total opposite. Man believes because of this world, other world is something Christianity promise but uncertain (Berthold). Most people live with morality as a herd, which they are happy and safe. If one wants to achieve his individuality, he should strive to be a person, which requires to lean one's own self and brings anguish. In order to succeed in the religious stage, one must have faith, which is a paradoxical situation. The only way not to declare Abraham as a murderer is to accept it above morality. Equalizing God's order and morality might conflict in person, as Hegelian view promote, since morality consists of various components that can differentiate, such as history, norms of society, and person. If there is something above the morality, Abraham behaves to seek for higher meaning. His belief requires him not to tell the dilemma, anyone. Because like truth is subjectivity Kierkegaard says, belief, in other words, relation with God needs to be subjective as each person has a different relationship which should be concerned. This is the true knight of faith, while the "sectarian" type imposes his ideas and force others. Kierkegaard's absurdity is distinct and increases with the tension between finite and infinite, and as it can be examined in the example of Abraham, and faith is a tough choice. He should love his son in order to make the sacrifice acceptable. Then he journeys long with inner conflicts and ends with his act of sacrifice against his own thoughts and emotions. Furthermore, it is entirely unsupported; there is no moral evidence that behavior is right. Despite all distress and oppression, Abraham hopes not just for the infinite world but also for this world and takes his son back, which is not the case for tragic heroes. He suppresses the reality, expands morality further, and go into absurdity with faith. Johannes highlight, one can resign, but faith is not under control. Camus' revolt is a nihilistic form of solution for overcoming despair. Affirmation of life solely attached to the person, not afterlife, nor a hope given by others. It continues to exist against death, void, and godlessness. Life is like a factory that produces its energy and creates a self-contained ecosystem. Kierkegaard opposes that, without God, it has to end with despair. Most Christians are not actual believers, because faith is gaining priority of individual over common. Clemence admits, the man should rely on something, earlier times it was God, now it changed. Camus puts emphasis on the irrationality of dignifying morality. Like Abraham, Clemence continues his life without concern of evaluation from other people; he acts individualistic. Reality comes with its laws, for living existence most destructive attitude is despair, so Camus discovered that it is a sin independent from God. (Berthold) Both religion and rebellion are a form of maintaining and intensifying absurdity. So, we can conclude although they seem like the antithesis of each other, Camus and Kierkegaard did not result in very different points. Acceptance of absurdity might be seen as a type of resignation, and faith is an act of revolt.

References

Berthold, D. Kierkegaard and Camus: either/or?. Int J Philos Relig 73, 137–150 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-013-9400-y