Autor: Schmitz, Kenneth L.

Buch: The Gift: Creation

Titel: The Gift: Creation

Stichwort: Schöpfung - Geschenk; ex nihilo; Liebe, Güte - amor benevolentiae (3 Aspekte)

Kurzinhalt: Benevolence, therefore, is neither egoism nor altruism. For it is not only a shift of weight or expansion to a second centre, it is also the qualitative transformation of the very nature of self-satisfaction. In benevolence the lover takes his own joy ...

Textausschnitt: 84a There is an aspect of discipline in love, too, and especially in that love that is the capacity to associate with another in a way that respects the integrity of the other. There is a kind of love that is a presence to another in which the lover is concerned to wish the other well: amor benevolentiae. It has three aspects: the risk of generosity, the satisfaction of subjectivity and the discipline of objectivity. Benevolence obviously contains an ingredient of generosity within it, and the ungenerous are incapable of extending it to others. Generosity is that spirit of abandon with which the lover breaks beyond the limits of autonomy and heteronomy, beyond the seemingly safe territory where mine is mine and yours is yours, into an intentional relation wherein the good of the beloved is in the lover's concern without being in his possession. It is as though the lover has adopted a second centre, as though he has redistributed his concern, so that the good of the beloved has equal weight (pondus) with his own. (Fs)

84b But there is an aspect of subjective satisfaction, too. The ingredient of subjectivity appropriate to benevolent love is the satisfaction enjoyed by the lover in his association with the beloved as he gives himself over to the spell of the beloved. It is obvious that the element of subjective satisfaction needs to be restrained, lest it overwhelm the beloved and corrupt the relationship. But neither should the element of satisfaction be wholly suppressed, as is suggested by some of the talk about "being a person for others." It is misleading to obscure the ingredient of self that is essential to any healthy love. For without self-worth, the lover has nothing to offer the beloved, and without self-satisfaction the lover can take no joy in the goodness of the beloved. If the lover recognizes the element of self in his love, he is the less likely to let it intrude surreptitiously into the relationship to the injury of both parties. Benevolence, therefore, is neither egoism nor altruism. For it is not only a shift of weight or expansion to a second centre, it is also the qualitative transformation of the very nature of self-satisfaction. In benevolence the lover takes his own joy in what is good for the other; he enjoys the good that the beloved enjoys; he takes satisfaction in what is genuinely satisfactory for the other. (Fs)

85a Now, it is just here that the discipline of objectivity shows itself in benevolent love. For genuine love is the giving of oneself with respect for the other. It is not an indiscriminate giving without consideration for the capacity and freedom of the recipient. False love is giving with an abandon that is still centered in a hidden way upon a self that has not yet attained an objective respect for the integrity of the other. Genuine love may not reckon the cost to the giver, but it does reckon the cost to the recipient. When such love is properly received, it can be a strength that helps to bring about the genuine possibilities of the beloved, even possibilities that would not exist without the love. False love, on the other hand, realizes the possibilities of the lover by betraying the integrity of the beloved. Genuine love is desire under the inner constraint of the beloved; it is subjective passion disciplining itself creatively in and through the presence of the beloved. In a word, then, there are relationships in which there can be the giving of oneself to another while respecting the integrity of the other. Through them, it is possible to give without usurpation and to receive without humiliation. The tension and the risk that attend all-giving and receiving are still there, for without them there would be no generosity. But the willing discipline of objectivity is there too; and, when all goes well, the transformed satisfaction of subjectivity is present in benevolent love as well. These three are constitutive of this distinctive and highly determinate relationship; so that, through understanding and love, we have access to the transcendental as well as to the specific energies operative in giving and receiving, and even to an obscure hint of love that exceeds any we are capable of. (Fs)