Universal Love

Abstract

When Kierkegaard speaks about the morality of love, he demands that it be not only unselfish but also universal. Romantic love, however, is essentially selective and exclusive, that is, not universal. Does this make romantic love essentially immoral? Endorsing universal love as a desirable ideal, this chapter explores what it means, and what it takes, to love universally. It argues that inasmuch as love is a joyful compassionate caring for an individual, and given the accessibility of the neighbor’s individual essence, it is the structure of the double movement of faith that makes the encounter with any neighbor love. Establishing the feasibility of universal love, the chapter demonstrates that the demand for universal love amounts to requiring that any interaction with a human being be that of love. And if so, romantic love is compatible with the demand for universality and hence does not pose any threat to morality.