                           19980921.00

Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 12:45:24 -0400
To: Ernst Meyer 
From: Bill Edwards 
Subject: Re: Die Andere (5)
Status: RO

> Thanks for your mail, and your reactions to my Web site.  There are times
> when I regard myself as a dilettante, and there are times when I regard
> myself as having interests that are too narrow, or possibly too cerebral.
> Maybe I am hitting the golden mean.  I sometimes feel that I only dabble,
> say, in Linux, or in Java.  On the other hand, I *program* for a living,
> and it might be a real trap to program at work, *and* at home.  Ideas for
> my own programming projects are not always forthcoming.
>
> I do love to read, and electronic texts have helped me to diversify my
> selections.  I wish I kept up better with German and Greek, but Die Andere
> is helping greatly with the former.  I am able to get away with only
> looking up a few words--I am using Wahrig (both full and paperback
> edition).  I hope that I am in general evincing some basic understanding of
> the novel.
>
> On agape--I suspect the Christian tradition would *not* acknowledge a
> golden mean, at the risk of stating the obvious, especially given its
> founder. De facto, though,  bourgeois, middle class Christians such as
> myself, probably live in the golden mean for the most part, which produces
> a real tension.  I probably should look at Kierkegaard, although I know no
> Danish--would "Workings of Love" be a good starting point?  I see what you
> mean about Doehring's regard for Dorothea--the doubts in chapter 17 are
> pretty secondary.
>
> The whole account of oikeiosis, and Doehring's concerns for Dorothea on
> that, makes me think of my marriage--my wife and I do not have children,
> and are not likely to have any, due to circumstances beyond our control.
> The idea of adoption seems fraught with problems to me, though adoption
> *is* a mitzvah, as  an orthodox Jew might put it--it is a meritorious
> action.  So, for me, a home may be something different.  Not that I have
> made major self-sacrifices in my life, but I also think of the promise in
> the Gospels:
>
> "Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or
> brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake
> and for the sake of the good news,  who will not receive a hundredfold now
> in this age -houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields
> with persecutions -and in the age to come eternal life." (Mk 10:28-30)
>
> So, maybe there is some compensation.  And I may be stereotyping Doehring's
> thoughts.  Dorothea does seem to want a home, a husband, and children--is
> this what all women (and men) want in the end?  Does Dorothea not reach
> this because of her (fairly well-grounded) fears of men?  Pardon the length
> of this screed, and see you Thursday! -- Bill
>
>
>
I apologize for prolonging this exchange; but I have discovered
over the years, that if I neglect to say what is on my mind
when it is on my mind, then before I know it, I have nothing
on my mind and nothing to say, - and when one has nothing on
ones mind, life seems to me infinitely impoverished.

At the end of Kierkegaard's "Either Or" there is a sermon
the title of which has been translated: "The edification implied
in the thought that as against God we are always in the wrong."
This short piece has been the focus of my reflections on Kierkegaard
over the years. In addition I have been much impressed by the
beginning of "Fear and Trembling", so much so that when I reread
it I become distracted and never finish the book. A work whose
title is variously translated as "Training in Christianity" or
"Practice in Christianity" is similarly impressive. The German
title "Einuebung im Christentum" is more accurate. The major
philosophical work is the Concluding Unscientific Postscript.
It is difficult, but I think very rewarding.

Some years ago I downloaded the entirety of Kierkegaard's
Works in the original Danish from an website in Denmark.
Unfortunately that website no longer exists; but I have the
texts and will be glad to give you copies.  For my own
use I have prepared an interlinear Danish-German version
of some of the texts, which is also available to you. The
German translation is in fact very good, and much better
than the old Princeton translations. There is a contemporary
English translation which is highly touted on the Kierkegaard
mailing list on the Internet (to which I used to subscribe),
but the copyright of which is jealously protected so that
no electronic version is available.

As I reflect on the question to what extent Doering's affection
for Dorothea should be denominated as agape, I become aware
that I am not sure whether there can be deduced from the Bible
a unitary definition of agape. I have alsways interpreted as
an expression of agape the iteration "kai eiden ho theos,
hoti kalon". (I am sorry I don't know Hebrew), God taking
delight in his creation as the essence of agape. John's
explicit reference (3:16) and Paul's (1. Corinthians 13)
each, I think, refer to a different spiritual state.

I would be suspicious of Doehrings purported agape as being
counterfeit, a sublimation of libido in disguise, just as
I have stigmatized much of his academic work as have erotic
roots. The concept of incest, obviously, defines the
illegitimate intrusion of erotic impulses into filial and
sibling relationships.

I would also distance myself from Murphy's adjudication of
the issues in Chapter 41, which you have not yet reached.
Murphy's right to judge Doehring and Dorothea obviously
derived from his stern judgment of himself. But it can
be argued that at least in respect to Dorothea, Murphy
is blind to the opportunities for growth, sacrifice
and suffering that her new life might present to her.

On Thursday evening we will meet at my office at 6 o'clock.
We will then drive my wife to Belmont, probably have some
supper, and talk or look at a text together, as you see fit.
I want to drive to the airport at 9 p.m. to meet my son, whose
plane is due at 9:50. You are welcome to come with me. I
could drop you off in Cambridge on the way down, or, if we
still have things to talk about, you can accompany me to
the airport, and I would drop you off on the way back.
My son, incidentally, understands all about literature.
His honors thesis in college was on Heinrich von Kleist.

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