ABSTRACT
A survey of the history of 19th-century Western philosophy shows that the conception of love is most prominently developed in the works of Hegel, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, all of whom take as their core guiding project to narrate the development, and ultimate ascendancy, of the human spirit. In this chapter, I identify the primary writings of these philosophers in which the concept of love is most clearly expressed, and while also citing important secondary sources, I analyze the central features of their philosophies of love. Hegel’s view of love as a unifying force is central to his phenomenology of spirit, and while Kierkegaard’s philosophy of love is developed in relation to this view, he goes further in showing how love builds us up as persons and is the central activity in living a life worthy of a human being. Although Schopenhauer’s metaphysics of love emphasize the sexual relationship, his moral philosophy includes a view of loving kindness that is crucial. Nietzsche’s writings on love are most ambiguous, but with some interpretive work it can be seen how he too expresses an affirmative conception of love. Overall, a consideration of 19th-century Western philosophy shows that Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and, above all, Kierkegaard offer readers substantive and rich ideas about how the activity of loving may contribute to the realization of the full human potential.
