Kevin J.

Bulotano 2009 23578 Philosophy 173 Exam 1) The notion that love is connected, if not at all entirely concerned with virtue, is often under attack by instances here and there of love turning people into vicious mammals incapable of basic humanity. Respond to this.

Should love be associated with the discussion of ethics, morality, and virtue? Is love positively beneficial to humans? Does it bring anything considerably good for people? How can it be positively beneficial if oftentimes people who are in love are occupied with madness and become vicious animals who want to absorb and possess anything that they savagely like and love? In order to effectively respond against this type of attack a cross-examination of loves nature and what does it really involve is necessary. What is loves nature anyway? Platos Symposium provides a picture of what love could be, according to the story of Socrates in the Symposium love is after the beauty and the good and therefore will always pursue what it lacks. If this is so, then nothing evil can be attributed to love itself because it is always after the good. According to Diotimas speech in the Symposium love is one way of transcending the good. It is a ladder in between humanity and godliness, of ignorance and wisdom. This is another view that supports the idea that love indeed is always after the good and is in fact connected and concerned with virtue. Personally, like any other actions, love can be controlled by reason. It is not a mere emotion that humans involuntarily submit to. According to Erich Fromm, a renowned psychologist, love is an action, the practice of a human power which can be practiced only in freedom and never as the result of a compulsion.1 He adds that love is an activity, not a passive affect; it is a standing in, not a falling for.2 Fromms characterization of love is hinged on his psychological notion that indeed love is a rational choice acted upon by human beings. If reason affects the capacity of men to love, then the transformation of an individual in becoming a vicious animal should not be solely blamed upon love itself. Personally, the transformation of individuals into becoming irrational animals is brought upon by the excesses of the action of loving that consequently affects the individual in
1 2

Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving, 22. Ibid.

the form of grief, pain or sadness. Such negative characteristics are responsible for such animalistic transformation and should be separately treated from love which is solely responsible for the desire of that which is good. Probably, the root cause of such transformation is based upon the lack or excess of love. Using Aristotles discussion of virtue ethics, such instances really does consume the individual into becoming immoral and will most probably destroy his character and virtue. The point being made here that in itself love is a positive element that only seeks out the good. Any other semblances of negative effects blamed upon love is a mere relation to the lack or excess of the action of loving.

2) Is love worth pursuing? Do people who choose not to be in any loving relationship miss on something? Can other forms of love compensate for this deficiency? Defend.

Love is worth pursuing. There are a number of reasons why it is so. It is personally worth pursuing because of two basic instances: a) it makes people better than they used to be and b) it makes people happy. However, there are also critiques for such benefits: a) there are other things that could also make people happy, b) other factors could also make humans better than they used to be, and c) love is mere madness that could easily transform people from a rational being to a non-thinking entity. With these instances given, it is probable that loves benefits to humans can be given by other things as well. In this case, love would not be worth pursuing because there could be other factors that could provide the same things as love does. If so, then why do some individuals place a primacy in love? If happiness and humantransformation can be provided by other factors aside from love, then why should love be important? Truthfully, it is a difficult question to answer whether love is important or not. What can be done is to provide instances and examples that could satisfactorily try to prove the importance of love in comparison with other things. The goals of this essay is to prove the following: a) that love is worth pursuing and is important in itself, b) people who choose not to

be in any loving relationship do not directly and necessarily miss on something, and c) other forms of love could probably, but not completely, compensate for such deficiency. The first thing that will be discussed is the possible importance of love which renders it worthy of human pursuance. What characteristic or effects of love makes it worth pursuing after all. Love always seeks the good, that which is positive. According to Robert Solomon, love has certain virtues that make it worth pursuing. He says that romantic love is a powerful emotional allyin breaking down the isolating individualism that has become the dubious heir of some of our favorite traditional values.3 He adds that aside from self-expansion, love also provides self-awareness. Solomon says, To love is to be intensely conscious of ones own worth and greatly concerned with ones virtues where being in love is already considered the first great step in the teleology of selfrealization.4 With these positive benefits that one can reap through love, the latter can be considered as something positively transformative for the individual thus worthy of human pursuance. The feeling of love is good in itself and worthy of having. An essay in the book tried to contain the positive characteristics a person in love feels: Love is what endures the quiet times between lovers, the distance and the uncertainties without losing hope that there will be better days ahead. Love gives the courage to try again, knowing that you will never exhaust another persons affection and feelings for you. Love accepts regardless of shortcoming and past. Love never diminishes your value and even in your worst of circumstances, love is willing to give you the best. Love endures the odds, the criticisms and understands beyond normal comprehension. Love gives you the boldness and the willingness to put yourself in a vulnerable position, because love can endure all thingslove overwhelms and consumes!5 In the passage above, the author described love itself including its positive characteristics that makes it pursuable. These positive characteristics of love all refer to the good that individuals try to harness. Thus, when an individual participates in the act of loving he or she is actually doing something in order to harness such element of good and in the

3 4

Robert Solomon, The Virtue of (Erotic) Love, 254 Ibid 5 Monica Cabrera, Of Breakthroughs and Grand Destinies, 110

process is able to have the end of happiness. Love is important simply because it is a way in obtaining the good and happiness which humans need in order to thrive and survive. Each type of love has its own specific set of characteristics, including its benefits, etc., which makes it unique. Consequently, each individual who do not participate in a specific loving relationship will obviously miss on something. (EXPOUND) Other forms of love can incompletely compensate for such deficiency. How is it so? A loving relationship requires two individuals that try to combine and make a whole and in the process create another self. The participants in this type of relationship can provide things not present in other types of relationship and which cannot be filled up by any other type of love. (EXPOUND)