Det etiske selv som vilje og kærlighed

This study examines Paul’s concept of the will through Hannah Arendt’s phenomenological perspective. In The Life of the Mind, Arendt identifies Paul not only as a founder of Christianity but as the first to articulate volition as an experience. She considers volition as the most reflective of the mind’s three faculties: thinking, willing, and judging, which together constitute the life of the mind. Arendt suggests that the mind’s reflexivity is less about self-orientation and more about being directed toward the “web” of human relationships, forming the “subjective in-between” (Arendt 1958, 183) that binds us together, even in solitude. Just as with the world of things, the presence of others influences thinking, willing, and judging, which sustains our moral imagination and reminds us of our shared existence. Drawing on Augustine’s concept of natality and Paul’s idea of volition, Arendt proposes that the will transcends the moral choice between good and evil, providing freedom in the form of spontaneous action. This freedom is realized most fully in acts of forgiveness and in the process of understanding, which is essential to reconciliation.