Talk about faith and trust. Imagine Abraham's faith and trust when God directed him to sacrifice his son Isaac. In his Fear and Trembling, Soren Kierkegaard uses the Biblical story of Abraham to talk about faith and the seeming conflict between personal moral codes and ethical norms. Introduce young philosophers to Kierkegaard with a short video that outlines his ideas.

Concepts

existentialism, faith, philosophers, ethics, trust

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Have groups compare Kierkegaard's Christian existentialist theories with those of Sartre, Camus, Nietzxche, Heidegger, de Beauvoir, etc.

Classroom Considerations

• The complete analysis of Fear and Trembling is available on the publisher's website with the purchase of a paid subscription or a trial membership
• To avoid the comment section, show the video in fullscreen mode

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• The video includes a short animated tale as an example of the conflict between the individual and the universal norms

Cons

• None

Common Core

RI.11-12.1 SL.11-12.2 RH.11-12.2 RH.11-12.9