DIALOGUE & DISCONJUNCTION

Andreas Simonsen (1923-1991) was a classicist and a teacher of ethics. He preferred not to be called a philosopher because he thought that a philosopher was someone who was too remote from reality and everyday life. Simonsen’s quest was to discover a realizable ethics; a balance between ethical ideals and a recognition of the complex conditions we inhabit.

Simonsen’s writings consist of exploratory dialogues between different ethical principles. He engages with and draws on Socrates, Løgstrup, and Niels Bohr, among others, as well as Jewish and Christian ethics. Simonsen’s foundational ethical concept is “disconjunction.” This concept refers to two seemingly opposed ethical principles balancing one another. An ethical act always contains two contrary considerations.

This anthology is being published in connection with the centenary of Andreas Simonsen’s birth and offers insight into Simonsen’s ethical thinking and dialogical approach.