Works of Love

What it is about

Works of Love is Kierkegaard’s major book on love as a duty toward the neighbour—including the one nearest—rather than as a feeling that proves itself by intensity. He presses Christian preferential and non-preferential love against romantic ideals that treat passion as self-justifying. The text is dense philosophical and religious prose from the nineteenth century, kept on the shelf so love is not only a mood. It is not couples counselling, not dating advice, and not a short self-help summary.

Questions it can answer

• How does Kierkegaard treat love as a duty rather than as intensity of feeling?
• What does neighbour-love include when the neighbour is also one’s closest partner?
• How does this book challenge romance that justifies itself only by passion?

What you will not find

• Modern attachment research or clinical protocols
• A light popularisation of Kierkegaard for quick tips
• Instructions for leaving or repairing a particular marriage