TY - JOUR
T1 - Gestures of neighbor-love
T2 - Literature, philosophy, and givenness
AU - Hron, Irina
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - This article explores the literary, philosophical, and phenomenological dimensions of neighbor-love. Phenomenologically speaking, neighborly love must be given, that is, it must be given voluntarily through attitudes, actions, or gestures. But whom do we actually acknowledge as our neighbor, and why? Adopting a comparative literary approach, this paper argues that literature is not philosophy's adversary but its creative interlocutor: Ilse Aichinger's poem “Foundling” transcends anthropocentric perspectives, presenting the Neighbor as a being beyond denomination by translating it from human to animal. Doris Lessing's novel The Diary of a Good Neighbour depicts the unpredictable and accidental nature of encounters with the Neighbor, leaving no room for personal choice. Ultimately, Amélie Nothomb's Les catilinaires illustrates how the Neighbor can be a persistent annoyance that both irritates and resists systematic thinking. These literary works outline a nuanced poetics of neighbor-love and givenness that extends beyond any anthropological, theological, or religio-ethical concept.
AB - This article explores the literary, philosophical, and phenomenological dimensions of neighbor-love. Phenomenologically speaking, neighborly love must be given, that is, it must be given voluntarily through attitudes, actions, or gestures. But whom do we actually acknowledge as our neighbor, and why? Adopting a comparative literary approach, this paper argues that literature is not philosophy's adversary but its creative interlocutor: Ilse Aichinger's poem “Foundling” transcends anthropocentric perspectives, presenting the Neighbor as a being beyond denomination by translating it from human to animal. Doris Lessing's novel The Diary of a Good Neighbour depicts the unpredictable and accidental nature of encounters with the Neighbor, leaving no room for personal choice. Ultimately, Amélie Nothomb's Les catilinaires illustrates how the Neighbor can be a persistent annoyance that both irritates and resists systematic thinking. These literary works outline a nuanced poetics of neighbor-love and givenness that extends beyond any anthropological, theological, or religio-ethical concept.
KW - Faculty of Humanities
KW - Comparative Literature
KW - Phenomenology
KW - Ethics
KW - Givenness
KW - Neighborhood
KW - Neighbor
KW - Neighbor-Love
U2 - 10.1111/oli.12445
DO - 10.1111/oli.12445
M3 - Journal article
SP - 129
EP - 144
JO - Orbis Litterarum
JF - Orbis Litterarum
SN - 0105-7510
ER -