Soren Kierkegaards The Iliad, By Simone Weil - 1349 Words

Simone Weil, in her essay The Iliad, or the Poem of Force, discusses the notion of force and the different ways upon which it is exerted. This notion when set side by side with Sà ¸ren Kierkegaard’s concept of a knight of faith in Fear and Trembling presents many paradoxes that seemingly convey the true nature faith, even within the political stratosphere. What I want to explore in this essay is how Weil’s notion of force interacts with Kierkegaard’s Abraham, and if the same force she explores is acting upon Abraham or if he is directed by something completely different. Weil defines force as â€Å"that x which turns anybody who is subjugated to it into a thing. Exercised to the limit, it turns man into a thing †¦ it makes a corpse out of†¦show more content†¦This triumph of love is presented in the presence of the empathy that accompanies death and is able to create a connection between enemies, thus eliminating the blindness that comes with the presence of force as well as dissipating the control that the force exerted upon both parties. This again, creates an equilibrium between the two individuals. Their backgrounds, social status, and relationships do not matter at this instant. All that matters is that they are death’s door and are aware of it at this moment. This clear awareness allows them to forget their past and move on from the fear that may have gripped them while they were waiting for death. This notion of awareness brings us to Kierkegaard’s idea that this equality, achieved so late in the lives of the characters in the Iliad, is essential for one’s attainment of â€Å"faith†. Kierkegaard employs Abraham’s character and story in oder to explain faith in a sense. The Iliad’s tragic hero and Abraham are different for a variety of reason’s but the main thing that sets them apart is that the tragic hero, can simply be understood. Te reader can connect and empathize with him because his actions are logical, whereas Abraham’s actions are nowhere near logical. He is called the Father of faith but was ready to kill his son. In order to even have the slightest possibility of understanding Abraham’s character one needs to accept that there are times, in regards to faith, where actions that are