Fear And Trembling

The Preface is written under the pseudonym Johannes de Silentio, who argues that everyone doubts too much and too often. Past philosophers have experienced doubt, of course, but not easily. Descartes reached a state of doubt but only after years of arduous study and a long process. Many Greek philosophers also believed it took a lifetime to reach doubt. Today, by contrast, people start with doubt.

Similarly, no one writing today is willing to stop with faith alone. It too is seemingly easily reached. Everyone wants to go further than faith. In prior generations, faith took a lifetime to reach. Today, everyone presumes to have faith and then attempts to go beyond it.

The writer admits to being “nothing of a philosopher” and that “he has not understood the System” (34). But even if faith were something that could be explained, the System would not help anyone understand it or why people have it. Since Johannes is not beholden to the System, he can write freely. Writing is something he does as a luxury, and he assumes most people will ignore his work or criticize him. But he is afraid some will try to place his writing into the System.