I like reading philosophy. Though it can be intimidating, reading the works of the great philosophers is often rewarding. Since philosophy provides a basis for how we function in our cultures, I’ve decided lately to try and gain a better grasp of postmodern thought. It is a fairly daunting task. I have only read a few selected writings and feel I have only scratched the surface. The subject is disregarded among many as trite; although in my limited reading it seems that these thinkers have very important things to say. They seem to be reading humanity and the climate of thought in a very broad and deep level, but they go about it in a way that is outside the scope of the tradition. For my first trek, I grabbed Michel Foucault’s The Order of Things. A historical work from the mid sixties in France; it investigates and brings into question the very practices that, we think, are used to communicate and hold together our perception of living.
But before jumping with both feet into a very deep pool, I decided to build up. I picked up in the mid 19th century with one of the fathers of Existentialism, Soren Kierkegaard. He was a christian philosopher that is regarded as one of the centuries best thinkers. I am about a quarter of the way through his Works of Love, but I only had to go the first couple of pages before I knew I was in for a stretch. I’ve been told that this work is holds both his theological mind and his philosophical mind better than his others. He speaks boldly and extensively about what he sees in our interactions with God, people and the rest of the world through love. Love seems to be one of those words that has now almost lost all definition, so it is refreshing to have a respectable chunk of pages give it some parameters.
-John P.
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