Summary

The second problem de Silentio explores is implied in the first: whether there is an absolute duty to God on the part of Abraham. The teleological suspension of the ethical assumes that there is some absolute relation that is superior to and supersedes the universal, i.e., obedience to divine command. The author suggests that nearly every form of duty can be traced back to duty to God, but, crucially, “in the duty itself I do not enter into relation to God” (68). The problem, as de Silentio sees it, is that duty is often externalized, and this results in an abdication of personal stakes and responsibility. In the case of Abraham, absolute duty to God is expressed internally as faith, as “an interiority that is incommensurable to exteriority” and can only be understood from the standpoint of the singular individual in his or...