Self-love at the intersection of theological and psychological discourses

Abstract

This publication examines and compares interpretations of selflove in well-known psychological literature and in authoritative Christian sources — the Holy Scripture and the patristic heritage of the Orthodox Church. Despite close initial premises and similar terminology, a significant discrepancy is found in the understanding of self-love in Christian and psychological discourses. Within the framework of the Christian approach, the author of the article highlights both the fundamental patristic approach to this phenomenon in human life and special statements that can be harmonized with each other, but not with the dominant psychological interpretation. At the end of the article, the author gives a description of the problematic field that arises with the spread of the secular psychological trend in understanding self-love.