Analysing Kierkegaard's Definition of Love and Death
As I was scanning from dictionary to dictionary, jumping from one site to another, trying to find a perfect way or passage to start this paper, I always stumbled with the definition of romantic love. But I was not satisfied, as I knew that love does not stop there. I had to dig deeper to truly discover what love truly is, not from the websites, but from my emotions and own understanding. Love is not just about feeling, it is more than what we feel, it flows and shows in our actions. I love a lot of things: objects, songs, artists and people close to me. So, what really is love? Love is a universal feeling, it is a cycle that starts from the womb to the tomb, an emotion that is present anywhere and wherever we go. As stated in Corinthians 13:4-8: “Love is unselfish, patient, kind, rejoices with the truth, protects, always trusts, hopes and perseveres. Love never fails.” Now I want to focus on Kierkegaard's definition of love.
Love on Death
Kierkegaard defines death as the finality of human beings and it is an uncertain certainty because it could strike us down at any time. Kierkegaard also believed that the thought of death is an existential problem to the living, but it could also be a way for a person to find something or a purpose for their life whilst alive. In relation to what Kierkegaard said, death is an inevitable truth, it pre-occupies our conscious and even sub-conscious with the thought of death or dying but despite of it being a negative thing, death is still one of the primary obsessions of human beings. Love being the other. But what connects these two together? Love is life and death as well. Love knows no boundaries, and it transcends even after death. Death signals the finality of the life of a human being on Earth, but the love remains to those left behind. Loving a person even after death is stronger than the love to those who are living as he/she continues to profess his/her love despite of his/her eternal absence. Remembering his/her memories, rekindling the times of being together and celebrating death anniversaries is a manifestation of their eternal love, thus it breaks the pact of “till death do us part.”
In conclusion, love springs in truth, according to Kierkegaard love can be felt in death and, in my opinion, love speaks of social justice. It is intertwined, connected to each other, it cannot be separated nor divided. It starts from the moment a woman is pregnant of her child fighting for her right to be born is both love on truth and social justice. The moment the baby is born it becomes love on social justice, to fight for the right to live properly and just. Then the baby grows into a child to adolescence, love on truth comes in, as discovery of self-love comes into play. Next is adulthood where love on social justice manifests as understanding, awareness and involvement to others and the society is embraced and accepted. Finally, old or retirement age, love on truth and death slowly creeps in. It is in this phase of life that a person finally accepts his/her fate. A phase where the person showers selfless and unconditional love to those around him/her. Thus, love transcends all concepts known to man, it is an infinite word that even the learned man cannot fathom nor explain.
