In kierkegaard and the philosophy of love, michael strawser shows that the philosophy of love lies at the heart of kierkegaard s writings, as he argues that the central issue of kierkegaard s authorship can and should be understood more broadly as the task of becoming a lover. Works of love, the midpoint in the series, is also the monumental high point, because of its penetrating, illuminating analysis of. He lived all his life on his inheritance, using it to finance his literary career. Love has no why, is essential to marriage, is a holy estate established by god. He was also a widely regarded danish poet, philosopher and religious author who wrote several pathbreaking books such as repetition, the concept of anxiety, and stages on lifes way and others which are all considered best soren kierkegaard books in order. Kierkegaard seems to have genuinely loved olsen but was unable to reconcile the prospect of marriage with his vocation as a writer, his passionate. The specifically religious writings include works of love. Conjugal faithfulness royal institute of philosophy. Soren kierkegaard project gutenberg selfpublishing. Strawser starts by identifying the questions how should i love the other.
These two themes come together in his book works of love 1847, but. The delights of wisdom relating to conjugal love after which follow the pleasures of insanity related to scortatory love. Michael strawsers book, kierkegaard and the philosophy of love, is an important contribution to understanding the universal human experience of love. Kjerlighedens gjerninger is a work by soren kierkegaard written in 1847. Interpersonal love refers to love between human beings. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. Eitheror seems to be a book about everything, like burtons the anatomy of melancholy or hugos les miserables. It is not a feel good book but one that might leave you wondering whether you really have loved at all, or loved well.
In true love between a man and woman, there is an evolution from attraction and desire to a feeling of good will towards the other person. During the 1890s, japanese philosophers began disseminating the works of kierkegaard, from the danish thinkers. Thus if another betrothed became convinced there was some other girl he cared for, he would presumably stand there like a criminal and his fiancee be outraged. Soren published his trilogy on october 16, 1843, which consisted of repetition, fear and trembling, and three edifying discourses. Bretall this study guide consists of approximately 29 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of a kierkegaard anthology. Authentic love, kierkegaard, and u2 psychology today. It will influence readers to become enthusiastic students of his christcentered thought. I get asked this question a lot by my students, and although it seems like a fairly straightforward question to answer, its not, because of how kierkegaard wrote. Ive been hesitant to post this because the implications and implementation scare me. His books include works of love and spiritual writings translated and edited by george pattison. That person will thus come to understand the order of nature from the leaves fall. Like all philosophical texts they are usually extremely difficult to read, for me anyway haha.
The binding may be slightly damaged but integrity is still intact. The judge william letter discussed in the body of this paper, mentions three kinds of faithfulness. Deep within every man, kierkegaard writes, there lies the dread of being alone in the. Love as a gift from god love as conquest of conjugal transfigurated love first love love as a choice. This book is an outstanding addition to kierkegaard publications. This is followed by critiques of kierkegaards views of selflove and the love of god that are incompatible with the understanding of love as.
May have some damage to the cover but integrity still intact. It is a much more potent sentiment than a simple liking for a person. Is there a recommended reading order for kierkegaard. I have read this book twice already over the last 10 years and have been mesmerised by its content. To overcome this despair and become a fulfilled individual, kierkegaard recommended a leap into marriage and faith. I wrote this post a month ago while i was in the throes of passion with the danish philosophical theologian, soren kierkegaard and his book works of love. Authentic love, kierkegaard, and u2 psychology today canada. The book is a moving, penetrating insight into one of the greatest and most perplexing love stories in literary history, written with the same scholarly vigilance and imaginative affection that. Kierkegaard s first major book was this dissertation, published in 1841. Kierkegaard and the ancient quest for emotional integrity rick.
Cavell and martha nussbaum, who equally find in a philosophy of love and marriage the. Unrequited love refers to those feelings of love that are not reciprocated. So, for one who loves, everything has ceased to have meaning in itself and only means something through the interpretation love gives it. One of soren kierkegaards most important writings, works of love is a profound examination of the human heart, in which the great. Rather than attempting a metaphysics on the nature of love as an abstract concept, which has often been the task of theologians and philosophers, strawser takes a phenomenological approach to the consciousness of the lover and beloved. Works of love by soren kierkegaard, paperback barnes. According to kierkegaard, the poetic understanding of love, that is, the love extolled in literature and song, is a counterfeit version of authentic love. I was wondering if theres a book i should read to get as best an understanding of kierkegaard as possible. The book examines four important aspects of love present in kierkegaard. There is a wide range of illustrative material here from the writings of soren kierkegaard to the ploys of pickup artists to the conjugal love of swedenborg to the kind of relationship described in the orthodox church ritual called adelphopoiesis. I managed to finish works of love in 2 weeks, it wasnt too difficult to take in unlike some of his other works. List of books and articles about soren kierkegaard. That he fell in love is as good as to say that he, too, yielded to the universal power of erotic love, which thus in a way became a power outside himself, which in being spurned by him had no place at all now where it could be sought. Soren kierkegaard and loving aesthetically springerlink.
The philosophies of love and despair in kierkegaards early. Philosopher professor clare carlisle picks the best kierkegaard books. Works of love is the first book ive actually completed reading from kierkegaard. I realize all his books are interconnected as part of his philosophical project, but im sure theres one book he wrote that best conveys his thoughts about philosophy and living. Kierkegaard and the philosophy of love reading religion. This, along with many of his other books, was in conflict with hegelianism, the dominant german philosophy of the time.
My phil program was a bit weak on the continental side so im slowly trying to get caught up on the figures i find interesting. Interpersonal love is most closely associated with interpersonal relationships. All of them wrote books between the years 1843 and 1855. Discover librarianselected research resources on soren kierkegaard from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals, magazines, newspapers and more. And so, kierkegaard argues, must god take the form of a manservant as jesus, so that we can love him. Another question in this sub just reminded me that i want to ask about this. This new edition of works of love features an original foreword by kierkegaard scholar george pattison. Soren kierkegaard, works of love, hong translation p. One of soren kierkegaard s most important writings, works of love is a profound examination of the human heart, in which the great philosopher conducts the reader into the inmost secrets of love. Christian views on marriage involve love as being central to the marriage relationship, just as christianity views love as central to human life and human. Born in copenhagen, denmark, soren kierkegaard was the son of a wealthy middleclass merchant. His 1843 books, eitheror, fear and trembling, and repetition, have all been widely translated and remain important philosophical texts. However, kierkegaard also viewed aesthetic loving relationships as inad equate because they are. This time i want to explore more deeply my thoughts, question and understand more of this densely packed work.
All other forms of love erotic, works of love, along with its companion purity of heart is to will one thing, is one of kierkegaards best works. Conjugal love refers to love in a conjugal relationship, that is, in a marriage, since the word conjugal is defined as related to the relationship between married partners marriage does not necessarily involve love between the partners. Kierkegaard begins with the paradox of love s character as both hidden and yet bearing fruit in works of love. This lucid new biography by scholar stephen backhouse presents the genius as well as the acutely sensitive man behind the brilliant books. After his death, kierkegaard continued to be an influential philosopher, and is often dubbed the father of existentialism. His erotic love is not based on the sensuous, either, but upon the psychical. Rather than a proof of christianity of the validity of scripture, which kierkegaard admits to taking as presuppositions, it is an interesting attempt to illuminate the central paradox of. In 1847 kierkegaard wrote works of love, a piece on love in its various forms, the perfection of christian love, and the offense of christianity. He studied theology at the university of copenhagen, completing a masters thesis in 1841 on the topic of irony in socrates.
U2 and kierkegaard on authentic love mike austin listens to bono while reading kierkegaard, and discovers that they have the same soul the death of his mother had a huge impact on him and on the substance of his writings. Works of love is a searching exploration of the distinctive and demanding character of christian love. Works of love is argumentdriven and therefore fits well into our modern day backandforth between secular and religious perspectives. The wisdom contained in this book is an essential tool in dealing with the premature and untimely death of a loved one, and restoring your hope and faith in god. Project gutenberg offers 61,067 free ebooks for kindle, ipad, nook, android, and iphone. Pseudonym a of eitheror volume i, attacks the concepts of marital love, religious love, the conventions of.
Conjugial love 1 editors preface all of the theological works of swedenborg from 1749 through 1766 were published anonymously. Both u2 and kierkegaard speak of divine love and erotic love together, as components of a good life. Love, for kierkegaard, is one of the central aspects of existence. It is one of the works which he published under his own name, as opposed to his more famous pseudonymous works. The jerusalem bible, london, darton longman, todd, 1966. In that book, the young man never fully becomes religious, despite giving up his one true love for the sake of his relationship with god. Karol wojtyla, who became our beloved pope john paul ii, wrote about the development of love in his book love and responsibility in 1960. Such love might exist between family members, friends, and couples. Kierkegaards fear and trembling jrs rare books and. Love conjoined to dutycommmitment is more majestic than brief romantic affairs. Love itself is a hidden in the lives and actions of individuals, and therefore much of our rhetoric about love is superficial and selfish. Kierkegaard has a talent for packing the contents of ten books into the clause of a single sentence.
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