Love and Responsibility

by Karol Wojtyła

Originally published in Polish in 1960, Love and Responsibility is Karol Wojtyla’s groundbreaking book on human love. In this classic work, Wojtyla explains relationships between persons, especially concerning sexual ethics, in the perspective of the true meaning of love. Grzegorz Ignatik, a native Polish speaker, has translated the 2001 version of the text, which includes revisions made by Pope John Paul II himself of the original 1960 edition, providing helpful notes and defining key terms.

523 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 25, 2019

Reviews

[Holly Walling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so here’s the tea post TOB institute course with Christopher West and Jeanette Clark. In the course, they reference the 1993 translation, as well as this newer 2013 translation. Here’s the head, or practical, wisdom I gleaned from the course on these two editions: The translator of the 1993 edition spoke Polish as his first language, so he gets the nuances of words better sometimes. This edition’s translator spoke English as his first language; overall Christopher West said that this translation is a more literal one of the two, but sometimes of the wording is more exact as well (i.e. “love of fondness” instead of “affectionate love” etc). With any translation, there’s good and “meh” parts. This one also includes an introduction to the work written by JPII when it was first published that is NOT in the other translation. My thoughts as we studied? I like them both, but the 1993 one will likely always remain my favorite just because I read it first and used it primarily for study.

Now for the heart wisdom: Again, after studying Love and Responsibility more, I just gotta say, JPII gets it. Arguably, this is the most important book of our times because it holds the antidote for a LOT of pain. It not only explains that pain, but offers a real, albeit sometimes difficult, solution. No one else explains the workings of the human heart in such a philosophically sound, informative, and tender way as JPII. Christopher West called this book “the philosophy of the body” and boy, he’s right. It’s hard to read at first, but once understood, it’s a masterpiece of study and love. In short, through this book JPII seeks to teach the lost and broken culture what it means to love, what it looks like to take responsibility for that love, and ultimately how to respond to it with our broken and fallen, but infinite redeeming human hearts full of longing. JPII opens the door for us to ponder our existence, and try to love the way we were made to. What else could be more worthwhile than that? I think I’m going to be reading and re reading this book for the rest of my life, and honestly, I’m not even mad. It’s such a gift.

[Catarina PBatista · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book, despite being mostly written considering only heterosexual relationships, most of the narrative could be applied to homosexual relationships~

[C.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s simply not a more practical synthesis of personalism and phenomenology written. The best thinking is thinking that leads to good action, rooted in objective reality. Wojytla does it.