Love Declared: Essays on the myths of love

by Denis de Rougemont

Toute conception de l'amour traduit une certaine idée de l'homme et du sens de la vie. Par conséquent, s'efforcer de comprendre les relations entre le spirituel et l'éros revient à s'interroger sur les diverses notions du moi dans les grandes religions.
Si le moi n'est qu'illusion ainsi que l'enseigne l'Orient, comment peut-on aimer l'autre pour lui-même ? S'il faut, tel que l'indique l'Evangile, aimer son prochain "comme soi-même", n'est-ce pas parce que l'on suppose une différence radicale entre le moi naturel et un "vrai moi" de nature spirituelle ? Et celui-ci se confondrait-il avec le Soi divin de l'Oriental ?
Dans le prolongement de son célèbre essai L'Amour et l'Occident , Denis de Rougemont tente de répondre ici à ces questions cruciales. Pour ce faire, il suit un chemin original qui passe par une "mythanalyse" des figures de Don Juan et de Tristan, par les écrits de certains penseurs capitaux (Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, André Gide ...) et par une nouvelle étude des personnages de grands romans d'amour contemporains. Autant d'étapes d'une quête aventureuse au plus profond de l'âme occidentale.

Genres: Philosophy, History

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Denys Louis de Rougemont (September 8, 1906 – December 6, 1985), known as Denis de Rougemont (French: [dəni də ʁuʒmɔ̃]), was a Swiss writer and cultural theorist who wrote in French. One of the non-conformists of the 1930s, he addressed the perils of totalitarianism from a Christian point of view. After the Second World War, he promoted European federalism.

He studied at the University of Neuchâtel and in Vienna, and then moved to Paris in 1930. There he wrote for and edited various publications, associating with the personalist groupings and the non-conformists of the 1930s: with Emmanuel Mounier and Arnaud Dandieu, he founded the magazines Esprit and L'Ordre Nouveau, and he also founded a magazine on existential theology, Hic et Nunc.

In June 1940, fearing that defeatism and the pressure of Nazi propaganda (and armies) would lead the federal government to submit to the Germans and give up the traditional democratic values of Switzerland, he led with Zurich University Professor Theophil Spoerri a group of young people which created a civil society organisation called the Gotthard League in order to defend both Christian values and the independence of Switzerland. De Rougemont wrote the movement's manifesto and on 22 July an "Appeal to the Swiss People" which was widely published in the Swiss press to rally support for the movement.

Later in 1940, after having authored a sharp column in a Swiss newspaper which infuriated the German government, he was sent to the United States and administered French broadcasting for the Voice of America. He likewise taught at the École Libre des Hautes Études in New York before returning to Europe in 1946.

He founded in Geneva the "Centre Européen de la Culture" in 1950 and in 1963 the "Institut Universitaire d'Etudes Européennes" (IUEE, "Graduate Institute of European Studies", attached to the University of Geneva). He was president of the Paris-based Congrès pour la Liberté de la Culture. Probably his most influential work is Love in the Western World (1939, 1956, 1972; English translations 1940, 1956, 1982).

The 1989–1990 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour.

Reviews

[Ermina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jedan od mojih najvećih problema sa knjigama jeste vjera u naslov ili vezu između naslova i sadržaja. To se primarno ocrtava u bilo kojem vidu stručne literature. Mitovi o ljubavi nisu mitovi o ljubavi, nego razglabanje o sitnim vezama i vezicama između autora i fenomena koji su Rougemontu eto-tako-sinuli.
Čovjek je započeo knjigu sa nekoliko rečenica o ljubavi i erosu, da bi se hladno sunovratio u poređenje Hamleta (jednog jedinog) i Kierkegaarda (fuj).
Ide dalje Rougemont i pokušava tumačiti Nietzschea, Nabokova, Musila, Pasternaka, i tako zaluta u priče o katoličanstvu, islamu, zoroastrizmu, budizmu, a pri tome je načeo samo rubove svih ovih beskrajnih tema.
Tako i ova studija spada u one u kojima autor izbjegava govoriti o temi koja stoji u naslovu, odnosno, koristi naslov kao povod za bulaženjenje o njemu interesantnim stvarima.

[Μαρία · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Κανένας έρωτας δεν είναι δυνατός ανάμεσα σε δυο όντα απομονωμένα. Ένας έρωτας μπορεί να γεννηθεί ως πρόκληση, δε μπορεί όμως να ουσιωθεί από την πρόκληση. Πρέπει να ενταχθεί σε μια κοινωνία. Δεν είναι περιεχόμενο ζωής, αλλά άρνηση, μια εξαίρεση από όλα τα περιεχόμενα της ζωής. Όμως κάθε εξαίρεση χρειάζεται κάτι από το οποίο να εξαιρείται. Δε μπορούμε να αντλήσουμε τη ζωή από μία καθαρή άρνηση."...

[Nara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again this writer gives words to my thoughts.

"La educación tiene, como fin verdadero, a la persona, pero en la medida en que la persona se realiza, se vuelve libre y responsable, la moral no puede ya ayudarle."

"Toda moral que no es una escuela-abierta a la libertad futura - es una cárcel, por muy 'laxista`que sea."

[Naopako dete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volecu te onako kako hocu

[Sielunkuva]

Note: Czytam po polsku

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less careful, much less comprehensive and less sympathetic than de Rougement's "Love in the Western World," this academic work makes love seem both impossible AND unromantic, which is never a good combination (like wearing mismatched prints on a first date). I mean, the fact that true romantic love is impossible is one thing, but if it's also unromantic, then... well... what's the point? Exposes the Romantic mythos convincingly but the analysis seems superfluous next to his other work.