Chicago, Illinois. April 24, 2009.

Chapter XII: The Leap into Certainty. The further step which we have to discuss has been called by Kierkegaard the ‘leap into the unknown’ or the ‘jump into the abyss’. This leap is required both in the religious and in the ethical sphere, but has different implications according to whether we consider it in a religious context, as Kierkegaard does, or in the ethical context with which we are concerned. We shall nevertheless first explain his elaboration of it, because this can help us to understand what any such leap means.

Kierkegaard recognizes the need for a leap because we cannot force anybody to have faith, not even ourselves. A longing for faith may easily arise; we may feel impotence, frustration, despair, recognition that belief in God could solve our difficulties, and yet we remain unable to believe; or the impact of the absolute which we have described may give us a glimmer of understanding of what faith is and we may yet be unable to accept it. In such moments we probably have a kind of faith, but it is fugitive and unreliable and superseded by doubt. In itself, the impact of the absolute is not sufficient because it remains depended on fleeting experiences which, though powerful and arresting, lead only to moments of insight; faith, however, implies the constant awareness of a transcendental reality which can be relied upon always and unconditionally. In short, even if we genuinely desire faith and have some understanding of it, we may still remain unable to believe. Nor will the example of people whose faith we admire necessarily lead to more than a longing of faith. Yet Kierkegaard claims that we can nevertheless do something–namely take on the risk of leaping into the unknown.

Excerpted from Ethical Values in the Age of Science by Paul Roubizcek. Published by Cambridge at the University Press, 1969.