Term paper on Love

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Love is…

Is love just a result of chemical reactions in our brains? It is one of the most difficult questions for mankind and there is not one legitimate definition of love. Love can be of different varieties depending on how one views it; there is romantic love, familial love, religious, love of an object or even a feeling, love for oneself, and many other variations. Love has written the history of mankind and changed each and every individual in one way or another. Love should always be experience and not just felt, just as the depth of love is something that can never be measured. Is the definition of love truly a mystery or is it a fear once defined, that we will somehow make it less powerful?

In Plato’s symposium many examples of the meaning of love are given by each speaker with each of them having their own opinion of what love means. The classical interpretations include much debate on the differences and several different theories. The views of Phaedrus stated that love was power, it was honor, and honor was most important, masculinity was a part of his theory manifested as a man’s protection of his beloved and that fear controlled loves emotion and the truest test of love for ones mate is the value of their own life. Meaning love was all encompassing for a man and a woman; you would put their life before yours and protect them at all costs or lose face as a man and lose your masculinity. It meant that nothing was as important as being a strong man, a protector, and having honor. In my opinion this meant that loving your mate or beloved was the most important and all encompassing form or love, there was no middle ground, it was all or nothing at all. It was the highest form of love in his opinion and it mattered the most overshadowing any ‘lesser’ forms of love or feelings of love, it was defined as long as you were with another person and that it could only be defined if you found your beloved or true love.

Other definitions of love debated included Pausanias who argued that love was only for noble and just causes, selfless with expectations for compensation. If you expected compensation for giving your love then you were evil and ruled by money, power, or wealth. Love of the mind, connected with an individual and separated from physical desire was the only ‘good’ kind of love. Love was only good or bad, if you had any ulterior motives or reasons for caring or loving someone then the gods were giving you evil love. Other theories included that man was descended from a form that had two heads and doubled limbs; these beings were a threat to the gods so the gods separated them into two halves; male and female and that was the reason why people spent their lifetime looking for their other half, their soul mate, their one true love which was shared by Aristophanes. Eryximachus was a physician and attributed love with health; good love equaled harmony and wellness, bad love was not good for the mind or the body. Egathon praised the god Eros and attributed love to beauty, all things beautiful were love, virtuous but did not discuss love as a feeling or state of mind, rather as a physical attribute or in beauty found in the world around you. It was love for the God. Pederasty’s opinion of love related to sexual intercourse with young boys, it was the man’s job to pass on knowledge and wisdom through a sexual initiation.

Each of the ideas expressed described different aspects of life during these times; some cultures were into war and conquest while others were into art and beauty. Each culture was diverse and idealized love around their lifestyles and cultures. For many the belief in their Gods played a huge part in how love was portrayed, Eros was the god of love and worshipped in different ways with different opinions. Love cannot be defined by Plato’s Symposium; rather it was a measure of what the spoken definition was at that time in history. Love was subjective to the opinions of each speaker and each of them were varied and touched on different ideologies. In the end love was seen by each one in their own individual way and expressed with their own personal thoughts and feelings. No one ‘defined’ love as it is unique to each individual.

Eros is deduced to be very strong desire, a passionate yearning, and a desire for true beauty and to love being in love. It is much more emotional rather than rational and can cloud your thoughts as well as open you up to heartache if love ends badly. You are giving your heart to another and hoping that they will keep it safe and sound without hurting you, trusting in that other person to feel the same as you do. Phila is by no means a ‘lesser’ form of love, it is not as passionate or all encompassing but rather a fondness, loyalty to a friend, love for your family. It comforts you are in need is steady and always there without the psychological turmoil and upheaval that Eros can bring. Agape is the love of God and for mankind, “You shall love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Love of God requires absolute devotion and is unwavering even in the worst of times. Love of God brings you comfort and a refuge, a belief...

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