''Love and Responsibility'' is a book written by Karol Wojtyła before he became
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
and was originally published in
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
in 1960 and in English in 1981.
[ Wojtyła, Karol. ''Love and Responsibility'': 1981] A new translation was published in 2013. Fr. Wojtyła was inspired to write the book when he was a professor at the
Catholic University of Lublin,
through the experiences he had while teaching young Catholics.
Background
While at the university, Fr. Wojtyła gathered a group of about 20 young people, who began to call themselves ''‘Rodzinka’'', the "little family". They met for prayers,
philosophical
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
discussions, and helping the blind and sick. The group eventually grew to approximately 200 participants, and their activities expanded to include annual
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
and
kayak
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' ().
The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...
ing trips.
The insight he gained from these meetings and discussions helped him develop the raw material for the text.
Description
The work consists of five chapters; "The Person and the Sexual Urge"; "The Person and Love"; "The Person and Chastity"; "Justice to the Creator"; and "Sexology and Ethics".
It is described as 'a defence of the traditional Church teachings on marriage from a new philosophical standpoint'.
In his introduction to the first edition, Fr. Wojtyla describes his reasons for writing the book as being "born principally of the need to put the norms of Catholic sexual morality on a firm basis, a basis as definitive as possible, relying on the most elementary and incontrovertible moral truths and the most fundamental values or goods".
Fr. Wojtyła writes that marital
sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
is the best image of God who is love, for he sees the human body as the only one capable of making the invisible — the spiritual and the divine — visible.
He says that human beings were created by God for a purpose: to be persons who freely choose to love, to give themselves as persons who express their self-giving through their bodies. Thus, sexual intercourse between
husband and wife is a
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
of their total mutual self-donation, and further fosters, strengthens and enriches it not just for the present but also for the future.
For Fr. Wojtyła, "The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine."
Insights into gender
Wojtyła's conception of gender flows from his philosophy of the human person. He posits a theistic humanism grounded in ''
Imago Dei
The image of God (; ) is a concept and theological doctrine in Christianity, as well as in Judaism. This concept is a foundational aspect of Christian and Jewish understandings of human nature. It stems from the primary text in Genesis 1:27, whi ...
'': mankind in the image and likeness of God.
A human being is an integrated body and soul, with a complementary union of two genders, male and female.
Wojtyła's philosophy is based on the
phenomenological tradition, which deals with the subjective experience of humans and how culture, language, upbringing, and biases all affect the way individuals see the objective world. The ethical system he presents appears heavily centered on actions and deeds.
However he argues that there is a metaphysical reality in which human subjects realize themselves and ground themselves in it by acting in freedom.
Specifically, the metaphysical realism is God and His creation of man in His own image and likeness. Yet, there is not a divide between man's subjectiveness and his metaphysical reality. Wojtyla refers to one's own subjective experience as "lived experience" or "inner life" and argues that an individual's conscious perception of this interior life is the experience of oneself as an acting self rooted in a metaphysical reality.
This interior life of a person rooted in the metaphysical reality of ''Imago Dei'' is what shapes John Paul II's conception of gender. He argues that since God is in a
triune relation of love, if man is created in His image then man should also be in a relation of love. The complementarity of the two sexes, then, is rooted in a relationship of love, and the very differences between men and women allow them to exist in this relationship together.
Since man is a composite of body and soul, and since the body makes visible the invisible nature of the soul, the very fact that men's and women's bodies physically complement each other is proof of their relationship of love.
As men and women are both created in ''Imago Dei'' they are both equal in dignity, although they are different. For Wojtyła, those differences are what allows men and women to exist coherently together in a union of love, reflecting man's deepest identity.
See also
*
Christian naturism#Vatican
References
Sources
*
* Wojtyła, Karol.
Love and Responsibility' on
Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
* Wojtyła, Karol.
Miłość i odpowiedzialność' ''Love and Responsibility''
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
in
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love And Responsibility
1960 non-fiction books
1960 in Christianity
Books about Christianity
Ethics books
Religious philosophical literature
Works by Pope John Paul II
William Collins, Sons books
Farrar, Straus and Giroux books