Abstract
In recent commentary on Kierkegaard’s Works of Love, a distinction is commonly drawn between ‘proper’ and ‘selfish’ forms of self-love. In arguing that not all vices of self-focus can be captured under the heading of selfishness, I seek to distinguish selfishness from self-centredness. But the latter vice has a far more handsome cousin: proper self-focus of the kind necessary for ‘becoming a self’. As various feminist thinkers have argued, this will be missed if we valorise self-sacrifice too uncritically. But nor need the latter concept be ditched. By distinguishing varieties of self-sacrifice, we can see the importance of avoiding the all too easy slide from proper self-sacrifice to outright self-annihilation. And we can discover that this avoidance is aided by recognising a kind of pride as part of true self-love.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams R.M. (2006) A theory of virtue: Excellence in being for the good. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Andolsen B.H. (1994) Agape in feminist ethics. In: Daly L.K. (eds) Feminist theological ethics: A reader. Louisville, Westminster/John Knox, pp 146–159
Aquinas, St. T. (1964–1980). Summa Theologica. London: Blackfriars/Eyre and Spottiswoode.
Aristotle. (1976). Nicomachean Ethics (J. A. K. Thomson, Trans.). Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Branden N. (1994) The six pillars of self-esteem. Bantam, New York
Coakley, S. (2001). Kenosis: Theological meanings and gender connotations. In J. Polkinghorne (Ed.), The work of love: Creation as kenosis (pp. 192–210). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Dillon, R. (1992). How to lose your self-respect. American Philosophical Quarterly, 29(2), 125–139.
Dyson, M. E. (2006). Pride. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ferreira, M. J. (2001). Love’s grateful striving: A commentary on Kierkegaard’s works of love. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Frankfurt, H. G. (2004). The reasons of love. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Goldstein, V. S. (1960). The human situation: A feminine view. Journal of Religion, 40(2), 100–112.
Groenhout, R. (2006). Kenosis and feminist theory. In C. S. Evans (Ed.), Exploring kenotic Christology (pp. 291–312). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kierkegaard, S. (1980). The sickness unto death (H. V. Hong & E. H. Hong, Trans.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Kierkegaard, S. (1995). Works of love (H. V. Hong & E. H. Hong, Trans.). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Lippitt J. (2007) Cracking the mirror: On Kierkegaard’s concerns about friendship. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 61(3): 131–150
MacIntyre A. (1999) Dependent rational animals: Why human beings need the virtues. Open Court, Chicago
Outka G. (1972) Agape: An ethical analysis. Yale University Press, New Haven
Ricoeur P. (1992) Oneself as another (K. Blamey, Trans.). Chicago, University of Chicago Press
Russell D. (2005) Aristotle on the moral relevance of self-respect. In: Gardiner S.M. (eds) Virtue ethics, old and new. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 101–121
Smith T. (2005) The practice of pride. In: Williams C. (eds) Personal virtues. Palgrave, London, pp 90–116
Spinoza, B. (1982). In S. Feldman (Ed.), The ethics and selected letters. Indianapolis: Hackett.
Springstead E. (1986) Simone Weil and the suffering of love. Cowley Publications, Cambridge, MA
Taylor C. (1989) Sources of the self: The making of the modern identity. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Taylor C. (1991) The ethics of authenticity. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Taylor C. (2007) A secular age. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Walsh S. (2004) Living christianly: Kierkegaard’s dialectic of Christian existence. University Park, Pennsylvania State University Press
Walsh, S. (forthcoming). The dear self: Self-love, redoubling, and self denial. In M. Penner & S. Landkildehus (Eds.), Living reasonably, loving well: Conversing with Frankfurt and Kierkegaard. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Weaver D.F. (2002) Self-love and Christian ethics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Weil S. (1952) Gravity and grace. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln
Welz C. (2008) Love as gift and self-sacrifice. Neue Zeitschrift für systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 50: 238–266
Westphal, M. (1996). Becoming a self: A reading of Kierkegaard’s concluding unscientific postscript. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lippitt, J. True self-love and true self-sacrifice. Int J Philos Relig 66, 125–138 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-009-9201-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-009-9201-5