Kierkegaard’s notion of a “Knight of Faith” is, in other words, the ultimate believer. However, Kierkegaard’s description of these knights is puzzling. Contrary to the enlightened blissful auras emitted by Hindus who has found their Atman, or Buddhists who have obtained nirvana, Kierkegaard’s Knights of Faith exhibit a rather depressing air of resignation. Resignation, however, does not equate to being a true believer but rather, renouncing all things is the final step before achieving faith.
Kierkegaard compares the Knights of Faith with dancers. He claims that they are “dancers with elevation. They make the upward movement and drop down again, and this …strangers in the world” (34). The “ups and downs” described in this quote may very well be metaphors for the states of unbelieving and absolute faith. Kierkegaard also notes in this quote a certain hesitation before the rising. Kierkegaard also notes a similar hesitation in the story of Abraham during the scene before Abraham decides to strike Isaac. Just what was it that allowed Abraham to make his decision? What is it that allows the Knights of Faith to make that upward movement in the dance? The answer lies in the belief of God’s good will. Abraham believed that God would make everything better before he actually had to kill Isaac and true to his belief, God stopped Abraham. So long as one believes in the fact that God would never actually request any actions of vice, then one can safely move from resignation, beyond hesitation and into absolute faith.
Such a concept of definite resignation seems somewhat incompatible with the ambitious character trait of most youths. To this, Kierkegaard responds by saying it is the young generation who erred in their judgments of all things being possible. Spiritually, all things are possible, but in the material world, such a thought does not hold (37). Disregarding Kierkegaard’s jab at the material world, his idea of all things being possible in the spiritual sense is rather perplexing. He argues that to make things possible, the Knight of Faith first expresses it spiritually and to do so, he must first renounce it. By renouncing the possibility, the grievance caused from such an action allows the concept to live on eternally as a powerful imprint in one’s mind. It always is easier to remember the bad things in life compared to the good things. To make things simple, it would seem as though one must renounce everything in order to have complete faith in God and regardless of the situation (no matter how absurd), the belief in God’s good will can dispel all hesitation. Things seem slightly strange, however, that in order to achieve absolute faith, one must first already have some shred of faith in God (no matter how small).
Kierkegaard’s dancer analogy is similar to Plato’s chariot analogy. The chariot, whose horses represent our tripartite soul, needs to ascend upwards to reach the Forms. According to Plato, Forms, such as justice, piety, courage, wisdom and moderation, and can be attained when the rational part of the tripartite soul is in control; however, the soul battles with its appetitive part and goes through cycles of upward and downward movement. Kierkegaard, in his spice analogy, suggests that the value of faith must be inflated by saying that people have not yet reached faith. In light of Plato’s analogy, Kierkegaard may be expressing that a good grasp of the Ethical/ rational must be attained before a person can become a Knight of Faith. In order for faith to have value, it must be something like Plato’s forms, which are beyond the realm of appearances (phenomena, and be something we are always striving to reach, but never can grasp. However, Kierkegaard does not make it clear what type of life we ought to live in order to become closer to absolute faith.
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