Kierkegaard: Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself as a Basis for Ethics :: Morals Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Kierkegaard Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself as a Basis for Ethics Thou shalt love the Lord thy graven image with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is the first and great dominationment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the honor and the prophets. Matthew 2237-40, AV When you open the door which you shut in order to pray to God, the first person you meet as you go out is your neighbour whom you shall love. wonderful Kierkegaard, p.64 1 Introduction This paper is a philosophical exploration of some aspects and implications of the second great commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself, which Kierkegaard called the royal command. This is often thought to be the heart of Christian ethics Wattles, p.8. This agape-obligation has seemed to some to pose difficulties. Macquarrie and Kierkegaard both recognize that there has been objection. Macquarrie several times notes his opposit ion to the belief,that moralistic laws are the heteronomous commands of a transcendent deity who demands obedience. p.219f and even worse, imposed on creatures from whom he is wholly other, a command, moreover, which they have no capacity to obey except by grace alone, while this grace, in turn, seems to be also external and has to be infused from outside. p.221 Kierkegaard wrote that,to the pagan, this command You shall love will not only surprise him but will incommode him and be an offence to him. p.41 It may perhaps offend you well, you know it anyway, that Christianity is always accompanied by signs of offense. Nevertheless believe it .... Do not stop believe because the command almost offends you. p.74 The thesis of this paper is that, setting aside the question of moral offense that has disturbed commentators from Thomas Paine (The Age of Reason) to William Empson (Miltons God), agape to neighbor makes nose out only under monotheistic or specifically Christian assumptions , and therefore, the old saw, Christianity may not be factually true, but it has a sublime good teaching, is problematical. A number of issues inevitably arise in any serious discussion of agape. Some of these issues are discussed in the sections below 2.1 How is love for God like love for neighbor?2.2 Is Gods love for me like my love for neighbor?2.3 How is love for neighbor like love of self?