Kierkegaard and the Problem of Self-Love

Reviews / Votes

'This is the most important book on Kierkegaard and love to appear since Jamie Ferreira's classic Love's Grateful Striving; in particular, it offers the most detailed treatment available on the notion of proper self-love in Works of Love. This work also brings Kierkegaard directly into current debates in moral psychology regarding love for particular others such as family and friends, and their relation to forms of self-love. The discussions of forgiveness, including self-forgiveness and self-respect, are especially rewarding. Lippitt writes clearly and his analyses will be accessible to readers without a prior speciality in Kierkegaard, including anyone interested in theories of love and various forms of love in their own right - and especially in theological contexts.' John J. Davenport, Fordham University 'Building on the resources offered by Kierkegaard's Works of Love, John Lippitt adds a crucial voice to contemporary philosophical discussions of love, such as we find in the work of Frankfurt and many others. Readers to whom any mention of self-love brings to mind an objectionable kind of selfishness ought to be persuaded early in Lippitt's argument that the topic cannot be ignored by anyone seeking to understand moral life. Without knowing what it means to love oneself 'in the right way', as Kierkegaard puts it, we can neither interpret nor comply with the imperative to love the neighbor 'as thyself'.' Rick Furtak, Colorado College 'This is a tightly argued and philosophically well-informed book that draws on a detailed knowledge of Kierkegaard's work and of the relevant secondary literature. As such, it provides a useful point of entry for students and established scholars into the internal complexity of Kierkegaard's moral thought and the issues it addresses. The position it constructively advances is humane, compassionate, and sensible, but also not undemanding ... exceptional stimulus to further reading and thinking.' George Pattison, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 'This book is clearly written and closely argued, and sets a fine example of how to engage Kierkegaard in a critical yet appreciative manner that brings his voice into contemporary discussions that bear centrally on questions about how human life should be lived.' C. Stephen Evans, Baylor University, Texas '... offers a detailed examination of Kierkegaard on self-love ... The book is lucid, well organized, and carefully attentive to the relevant contemporary literature. It will be an excellent acquisition for all libraries supporting work on Kierkegaard, the nature of love, or the philosophy of religion ... Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above.' Choice