What is love?-Sarita Madrid

To begin, my perceived definition of the summary of love is best explained by Saint Thomas Aquinas who said "to love is to will the good of another." I like this definition of love because it involves the aspect of choice in love. The will means the choice or action of a person and combined with willing the good of another means to choose what is best for another. Doing what is best for someone else is not something done by instinct. It is not like you wake up one day and just automatically do what's best for someone or you feel what's best for someone. That is another argument about love... that it is a feeling. To this, I would partly agree with. I think that feelings must be present in SOME type of form for someone to want to be with someone else in the first place. However, I learned in psychology (and it's common knowledge) that feelings are temporary and fade away. All feelings. No feeling is exempt from fluctuating or changing. Thus, love simply cannot be SOLELY a feeling because all feelings are subject to change and most likely will change/fluctuate. I think that love is both a feeling and a choice but leaning more towards the choice side because after being married for over 20 years I do not think the initial "feeling" will be the same which is where the choice comes in. There may different feelings that are good but I think that out actions should ultimately be a result of our choices. I think it is funny how everyone has such a different definition of what love is. As I said earlier, many people correlate it to feeling but many people also connect it to the "bond" or "connection" you feel with others. Although this may be true, I think that people oftentimes base this opinion off of the feeling from physical connection. Many people mistake love for passion and desire of another person. This reminds me of the eros love we learned about in class. I think that eros love plays a part in actual love but eros itself is not love. Love is not only derived from passion or sensual "love." Sensual "love" is usually selfish and makes decisions based on desires, wants, and "needs." I think that society focuses on eros because they are concerned with themselves and not what is best for others. I think it is sad how society views this as love and lets their emotions and desires drive their actions because this leads to break-up, broken hearts, and hopeless people of finding true love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The "Prodigal Son Theme" in Movies

The "Prodigal Son Theme" in Movies In Luke 15: 11 - 32, Jesus shares the story of the Prodigal Son with His disciples. The story goes as follows: A father has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance and goes off and squanders it. After some time, he becomes poor and decides to return home to his father. He returns home with the intention of begging his father to be made one of his hired servants, expecting his relationship with his father is likely severed. However, the father welcomes him back and celebrates his return.  This story line can be found as an underlying theme in many movies today. 1) Big Fish  During the film, Will and his elderly father, Edward, have a falling out over Edward's stories about his life, and do not speak to each other for 3 years following the fight. However, when Edward falls deathly ill, Will returns home and although there is tension between the duo, their relationship has not been destroyed. Over the course of the mo...
Read more

C.S. Lewis - The Four Loves - Phileo Love

C.S. Lewis states that the necessity of friendship is not mandatory to our biological survival. Unlike the other loves it serves as the least "instinctive, organic, biological, gregarious and necessary" (58). Many films touch upon the idea of love in its eros or agape form but phileo love seems to always be the side product of the story line which is very affirming of what C.S. Lewis states in regarding phileo love. The idea of friendship is not something as valued in our society but as seen in war movies such as The Thin Red Line  the necessity for camaraderie in friendship comes into play. As C.S. Lewis states, "“Lovers are always talking to one another about their love; Friends hardly ever about their Friendship. Lovers are normally face to face, absorbed in each other; Friends, side by side, absorbed in a common interest” (61). Visually in films lovers are directly face to face and friends are often seen as companions side by side such as in war films or superhero fi...
Read more

The Decalogue - 1 & 5

The Decalogue is a series of films about the Ten Commandments. Decalogues 1 & 5 are thought provoking and pull the strings of feelings that all humans share, regardless of religion, race, etc.  The first film in the Decalogue is about the the First Commandment; " I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me". The film focuses on a father and son, having a very close relationship. The father is a professor at a university, and places all of his trust within formulas, calculations, and anything that is backed by fact or reason. The father represents someone who lacks faith and does not search for truths that cannot be attained through calculations or proof. The father's God is represented by his computer, where he trusts his calculations blindly. His son is young and innocent, asking questions that we all have wondered at some time in our own lives. The father cannot provide his son with adequate answers for these deep and profound questions of li...
Read more