My Struggle: Book 4

by Karl Ove Knausgård

“He showed me one this summer. I understood nothing. Someone was walking on the edge of heaven. What does that mean?” She looked at me and smiled. “Well, what could it mean?” “Haven’t got the foggiest,” I said. “Something philosophical?” “Yes, but the philosophy he reads is about life. And everyone knows something about that.” “Why can’t he just write it as it is, straight?” “Some do,” she said. “But there are things you can’t say straight.” “Such as?” She sighed and stroked the cat on the head, which he immediately raised, his eyes closed in ecstasy. “When I was a student I studied a Danish philosopher called Løgstrup. He’s very taken by the philosopher who means so much to Kjartan: Heidegger.” “Yes, I remember the name,” I said with a laugh. “He uses a concept Heidegger writes about,” Mom continued. “Fürsorge. Care. It’s at the heart of nursing science of course. Nursing is about caring for people. But what actually is care? And how do we provide care? It’s about being human with another human. But what is it to be human?” “I suppose that will depend on who you ask?” I said. “Yes, exactly,” she said with a nod. “But is there a feature that is common to us all? It’s a philosophical question. And it’s important for the job I do, too.” “I understand that,” I said. “But I don’t understand why he walked on the edge of heaven for that.” “Are we meant to understand?”