How Can We Learn From The Knight Of Faith?
Today’s writing is a little different. We will dive into a tiny bit of philosophy, specifically the idea of a Knight of Faith. When I first came in contact with the idea of the Knight of Faith, I was utterly blown away. It showed me a different side as to what humans are capable of, and how there is a possibility of true faith not being inferior to, but higher than the power of reason. Let’s think about it for a couple of minutes. Reason is by far one of the most compelling ways to go about getting things right, from the small nitty-gritty details to some of the big existential life questions we encounter. Yet, there are times when we can’t exactly explain why we do something. It feels right to us, but it appears completely absurd to others.
We can’t quite rationally explain or justify our actions, and somehow it transcends mere human intelligible capabilities.
The Knight of Faith is someone who has gone through the movement of resignation and the leap of faith into the absurd by which the knight regains everything he has lost. He can then delight in the finitude of this world as someone who has learned to appreciate it through loss. This can be illustrated with a tragic yet seemingly romantic story that some of us are probably familiar with. The Knight of Faith falls in love with a princess, but comes to realise that, for whatever reason, the relationship can never be materialised in the finite, temporal world. It is worthy to note that the finite, temporal world refers to everything that exists within the boundaries imposed by the physical world.
On the flip side, the infinite, eternal world is fundamentally immiscible with the physical world that is often accessed through concrete circumstances.
Upon acknowledging his position in the relationship, the Knight of Faith decides to surrender the entirety of his hope in an act of infinite resignation. He makes this impossibility possible by expressing it spiritually, but he expresses it spiritually by renouncing it. The desire that would lead him out into actuality, yet has been stranded on impossibility is now turned inward. But it is not therefore lost, nor is it forgotten.
In doing so, it doesn’t matter if the relationship can actually be realized. When the Knight of Faith internalises his desires, he can continue cultivating his love for the girl of his dreams. Unrequited love to the highest degree, as we all know it. It seems unreasonable, but the Knight of Faith declares to himself that he will have faith that he will be with her by virtue of the absurd. It is absurd, as it cannot be understood. It cannot be approached rationally.
It seems that the Knight of Faith chooses to abandon the method of logical reflection, and simply throws himself into a heated passion.
At first glance, it seems like such a pursuit of faith is dangerous and frightening. The loyalty expressed can be compared to a die-hard Apple fan. We can point out that someone who is a true fan will want to surrender himself to a kind of resignation. Initially, it seems like certain value is discounted and lost. But I believe through virtue of the absurd, what is lost can be regained eventually. A leap of faith may not necessarily be a bad thing. I would even argue to say that many of us lack the courage to take the leap of faith to step into and explore our personal uncharted territories.
It is through the process of being feared that our deepest fears are uncovered. It is in the rejection of the temptation to cave in to easier things that we seek to have a better understanding of ourselves. Don’t you think so? Oftentimes, it is when we readily lose ourselves, be it in a foreign place, a romantic relationship or even a song we have repeated for a thousand times, that we truly find and reconcile with ourselves.
