Plato (detail from Raphael’s The School of Athens) When we engage in the philosophical activity of ethics we ask questions like: what are right and wrong actions? What does it mean for something to be good or bad? What is… Read more ›
I was recently asked to give a talk on what makes relationships beneficial. Since Valentine’s Day was approaching, I decided to offer a set of insights based on three philosophical theories of love which I cover in my philosophy of love… Read more ›
In a previous post (here) we considered Thomas Hobbes’ account of how, once hedonism and egoism are embraced, love can quickly become entangled in self-defeating power relations. G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831) offers us another way to think about love as power… Read more ›
According to philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) we are typically (1) egoists motivated out of self-interest and (2) hedonists who desire pleasure and security over all else. This means we inevitably seek love since it gives us the most intense pleasure… Read more ›
In previous posts we have seen ways in which Eros (erotic love) can imply, lead to, or be thwarted by Thanatos (death). Here is yet another example of a relation between the two. In his book The Meanings of Love… Read more ›
Introduction Love, for centuries, has been associated with divine powers. Of course, it is a bit more fashionable these days, and a bit more scientific, to think of love as a function of neurochemistry. But it is interesting to consider… Read more ›
Love can arrive slowly like a golden leaf of autumn, suddenly like a first snow, quietly like a spring shower, boldly like a summer storm.
What is the relation between logos (speech, reason) and eros (love)? Some say there is no relation since love is just a matter of emotions, feelings, passions, and actions. But according to Plato’s developmental vision of eros encountered in his… Read more ›
In post #55 (go here) I explored, with reference to Freud, the dynamics of eros (love) and thanatos (death). Here I would like to continue these reflections with reference to Plato. In his dialogue Symposium, Plato has his character Socrates… Read more ›
Many people think love and duty are mutually exclusive. This exclusivity is a popular theme in romantic literature from the middle ages (for example, Tristan and Isolde as well as Heliose and Abelard) all the way up to Game of… Read more ›
In his book Human, All Too Human, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) has an aphorism entitled Love and Duality which reads: “What is love but understanding and rejoicing at the fact that another lives, feels, and acts in a way different from and… Read more ›
Introduction In part one of this three-post series (go here) I presented Agnes Heller’s account of the modern and postmodern worldviews and how she thinks postmodernism leaves us with “life on the railway station” or the state of being radically… Read more ›
Introduction In part one of this three-post series (go here) I presented Agnes Heller’s account of the modern and postmodern worldviews and how she thinks postmodernism leaves us with “life on the railway station” or the state of being radically… Read more ›
When he was young the Danish philosopher and father of existentialism Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) wrote a journal entry which gives us direct insight into his fundamental problem: “I have just returned from a party of which I was the life… Read more ›
In this post I want to shed some light on the ultimate principle of explanation in Aristotle’s (384-322 BC) systematic worldview, the thing without which nothing can move and develop: God. To approach his theology we need to take a… Read more ›