>[!abstract] >The teleological suspension of the ethical, a concept from Søren Kierkegaard's _Fear and Trembling_, refers to the idea that ethical norms—normally universal and binding—can be set aside if overridden by a higher divine purpose (telos). Kierkegaard illustrates this with Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac: an act that violates universal morality but is justified by obedience to God's command. The notion challenges the assumption that ethics are absolute, suggesting that faith may require a paradoxical transcendence of the ethical. It highlights the tension between universal moral law and the radical individuality of religious faith. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[Faith and reason]] >- **West** (similar): [[Divine command theory]] (the view that moral rightness is determined by God's will) >- **East** (different): [[Kantian ethics]] (universal moral law admits of no exceptions, not even for God) >- **South** (downstream): [[The knight of faith]] (Kierkegaard's exemplar of someone who makes the leap into absolute faith beyond ethics)