“…I will not be putting any text in so thoroughgoing a conversation with Works of Love, but I approve of her strategy. Readers interested in a more thorough defense of the legitimacy of bringing pseudonymous works into relationship with Works of Love should consult her rationale (Krishek 2009). Patrick Stokes has done the same, and he rebuts the potential objection that allowing one text to illumine another for constructive purposes necessarily violates the point and spirit of the pseudonymous authorship (Stokes 2006).…”
Recent readings of Kierkegaard's Works of Love have admirably shown how his apparent reservations about romantic love can be deflected on his own terms by imbuing them with some of the moral rigor of neighbor-love. This paper argues however that these readings must be complemented by the reverse argument, which would show how some of the qualities of romantic loves are in fact preserved in neighbor-love. By drawing on his dialectics of sensate love, psychical love, spiritual love, and self-love, I show how Kierkegaard believes neighbor-love should be impartial and yet exhibit some of the character of preferential romantic loves.
“…I will not be putting any text in so thoroughgoing a conversation with Works of Love, but I approve of her strategy. Readers interested in a more thorough defense of the legitimacy of bringing pseudonymous works into relationship with Works of Love should consult her rationale (Krishek 2009). Patrick Stokes has done the same, and he rebuts the potential objection that allowing one text to illumine another for constructive purposes necessarily violates the point and spirit of the pseudonymous authorship (Stokes 2006).…”
Recent readings of Kierkegaard's Works of Love have admirably shown how his apparent reservations about romantic love can be deflected on his own terms by imbuing them with some of the moral rigor of neighbor-love. This paper argues however that these readings must be complemented by the reverse argument, which would show how some of the qualities of romantic loves are in fact preserved in neighbor-love. By drawing on his dialectics of sensate love, psychical love, spiritual love, and self-love, I show how Kierkegaard believes neighbor-love should be impartial and yet exhibit some of the character of preferential romantic loves.
“…“The need in question does not have to be of grand scale; the relevant person does not have to be in a state of actual suffering. It suffices that we detect his vulnerability, his susceptibility to suffering” (Krishek , 118). It is possible to feel compassion equally towards all human beings and not have that compassion manifest itself in the same way.The compassion that one (ideally) feels towards a homeless person asking for money is the same as the compassion that the Good Samaritan feels towards the injured traveler, even if the former gives only a few coins while the latter does much more.…”
Section: Preferential Love Vs Agapic Love Of the Neighbormentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The treatment required of a loving neighbour depends upon the relevant circumstances and changes accordingly, but her feeling (qua a loving neighbour) should always be the same. (Krishek , 118)…”
Section: Preferential Love Vs Agapic Love Of the Neighbormentioning
confidence: 99%
“…However, although his love for his son is unquestionably distinct from his love for a stranger’s son, the two loves nevertheless have something very important in common, and that is compassion. (, 118–19)…”
Section: Preferential Love Vs Agapic Love Of the Neighbormentioning
confidence: 99%
“…According to Krishek, this realization of our common vulnerability to suffering is an important step towards cultivating an egalitarian feeling of compassion: “Every human is vulnerable by virtue of his temporality and limitedness: nobody is exempt from the sufferings entailed in unfulfilled desires, lost dreams, and the burden of death. Sorrow (and suffering) is integral to living, and this in itself is enough to make every person vulnerable and thus worthy of compassion” (, 118).…”
Section: Towards a Kierkegaardian View Of Prayermentioning
When considering the role of prayer in the lives of believers, most theists agree that one important effect is the psychological impact on the person who is praying. Nevertheless, the way many of us pray, by primarily or solely focusing on our welfare and the welfare of our loved ones, agitates the human tendency towards exclusion. If we take seriously God's commandment to love the neighbor as the self, we should use prayer, instead, as a prime opportunity to help cultivate a moral character that embraces more inclusion. In this paper, I use Søren Kierkegaard's Works of Love as a framework for working towards this more inclusive view of prayer-one that widens our moral circle and awareness to include all human beings, and not just the select ones we have chosen to prefer above all others. It does not follow that we are prohibited from praying for our own welfare or the welfare of our loved ones, but it does mean that using prayer in a way that only (or primarily) shows concern for those whom we prefer is morally problematic.
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