SOREN KIERKEGAARD

What Soren Kierkegaard Means By Teleological Suspension

What Soren Kierkegaard Means By Teleological Suspension

Introduction

Kierkegaard argues that his retellings of the story of Abraham demonstrate the importance of a “teleological suspension of the ethical. Teleological means in regard to the end. If you are hungry and you eat something with the goal of no longer being hungry, then you made a teleological decision: you acted, by eating, so as to achieve the end of no longer being hungry. Abraham performs a teleological suspension of the ethical when he decides to kill Isaac. Abraham knows that killing Isaac is unethical. Abraham puts ...