The Connection between Love and Compassion in Kierkegaard's Works of Love

Love in its various forms is central to Kierkegaard's philosophy, but only in Works of Love (1847) does he provide a scrutinized and systematic analysis of his understanding of the meaning and value of love. Accordingly, it deserves special attention. While in other places Kierkegaard connects love and faith or love and joy, I suggest that in Works of Love love should primarily be understood in terms of compassion. Although Kierkegaard does not explicitly use the notion of compassion, early in the work he refers to the parable of the Good Samaritan, whose love is in fact compassion. Following this clue, I demonstrate that the concept of compassion meets Kierkegaard's understanding of the nature of genuine love. Hence, my task is to show that there is a solid basis-textual and conceptual alike-for understanding the concept of love that Kierkegaard defends in Works of Love in terms of compassion.