The meaning of love and its bittersweet nature Wong, Paul T. P.; Mayer, Claude-Hélène
International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England),
01/2023, Letnik:
35, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Love is the core of human experience and central to our meaning in life and wellbeing, yet it is also a complex concept full of ambiguity and contradiction. The main purpose of this paper is ...fourfold: Firstly, we want to clarify questions such as 'What is the meaning of love?' and 'Why is meaning of love so important to us?' Secondly, we want to explain why love is both suffering and essential for our happiness and mental health. Thirdly, we identify the major types of love and clarify which types are constructive and which are destructive. We also identify the key dimensions of true love. Finally, we emphasise that love does not always mean happiness; rather, it is meant to be a school to teach us important lessons and to make us complete. Therefore, we need to embrace suffering and at the same time cultivate the constructive types of love to improve our mental health and to make the world a more compassionate place.
The starting point of this paper is represented by the research carried out by the study group of Social-One (Iorio, 2014; 2015; Araújo et al., 2015; Araújo et al., 2016; Martins, Cataldi, 2016), ...which recognised a public dimension and not only the intimate and personal dimension of love in today’s society. Taking as a reference point the work of Luc Boltanski, L’amour et la justice comme competences (1990), the research of the study group has proposed to widen the circle of sharing to go beyond the input from classic sociologists with a new conceptual category of love linked to agape. This path has actually already been begun by some well-known scholars – including Simmel (1907; 1921; 1989; 2001), Sorokin (1954), Giddens (1992), Luhman (1987) and Honneth (1990) – on the shoulders of whom it has already been possible to see the historical path of the transformation of the concept. However, the “agape” action brings something new to the social sciences: agape, in fact, introduces emerging characteristics, which at the same time, is linked to and transcends the way love is understood as “eros” and “philia”, defining itself as a key to gaining insight into a primarily empirical social reality, based on unconditional love of one’s neighbour. On this basis, the paper traces the path that the concept of love has had in the history of sociological thought, enlightening its public and social characters and proposing a research project based on love as agape.
The object of this study is the work of the outstanding sociologist and philosopher of the 20th century Pitirim A. Sorokin as is evident from his work The Ways and Power of Love: Types, Factors, and ...Techniques of Moral Transformation Sorokin, 1954. Herein Sorokin provided his elaborate scientific analysis of the crisis state of contemporary society and considered the causes of this phenomenon. To put the above-mentioned ideas into the context of Sorokin’s scientific and philosophical theories means to organize into a system his approaches to crisis phenomena of the contemporary society. Moreover, the solutions suggested by P. Sorokin need to be compared across his various works. Still The Ways... with its analysis of philosophical and religious understanding of love, its functioning, and versatility, makes up the heart of the research. According to the philosopher, love is an ultimate cure for societal maladies and evils. It is love that is capable of turning societies over in the times of crisis and collapse of sensual culture. Sensual culture is stated as one of three cultural supersystems evolving in cycles. That said, love is a real social process that determines the minimal level of consensus in a society. It should be noted that despite having no translation into the Russian language, Sorokin’s book has been widely introduced into the scholarly discourse and those concerned are well aware of its importance. My translation of Chapter 15 of the work presented in this issue of the journal Concept: Philosophy, Religion, Culture can be considered as a vast quotation of Pitirim Sorokin’s writings and will let Russian-speaking readers learn more about the key ideas of the philosopher on understanding the factors and techniques of moral education in different sociocultural contexts in connection with peculiarities of religious self-consciousness.
The Philosophy and Social Science of Agape Love Enright, Robert D.; Wang Xu, Jiahe; Rapp, Hannah ...
Journal of theoretical and philosophical psychology,
11/2022, Letnik:
42, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The moral virtues have had prominence in social scientific research ever since Piaget's (1932) and Kohlberg's (1969) pioneering work on the cognitive developmental stages of justice reasoning. A less ...explored moral virtue is the ancient idea of agape, or love that is in service to others which includes effort and even pain on the part of the one expressing the virtue. In this work, we attempt a precise definition of agape using Aristotelian philosophical views of virtue ethics and his principles of analyzing constructs for their essences and their specific differences with related but distinct constructs. From this Aristotelian philosophical framework, we then critique existing social scientific measures of love and of agape in particular. We then provide guidelines for the development of construct-valid measures of agape that are philosophically coherent. Possible research questions to expand the scientific study of agape are presented as a way forward with this important construct that could bring psychological health to individuals and peace and unity to families and communities.
Public Significance Statement
Agape love is a moral virtue in which a person willingly and unconditionally offers goodness, at a cost to the giver, to another or others in need. Because this under-researched ancient concept has implications for harmonious relationships and for good mental health, accurate measures of agape are needed to assess the degree to which a person understands and practices it.
This paper is an analysis of Jack Kerouac’s 1954-letter to Robert Lax and it emphasizes that the American author’s (temporary) conversion to Buddhism was not a mere reaction against his Christian ...belief and tradition, but the result of a natural, informed realization of the possibility to accept, to celebrate distinction, to bridge the differences through compassion. The analysis partly mirrors Jack Kerouac’s own etymological method and highlights the differences between his own and the traditional interpretation of the terms karuna and agape. The conclusion is that, even though Kerouac’s understanding of certain religious concepts might sound subjective, it provides the reader with a valuable perspective on the two spiritual traditions which enabled the American author to naturally turn to Buddhism, albeit temporarily; it also facilitates the analysis of his writing.
Una de las acusaciones vertidas en los juicios de Tréveris contra el obispo Prisciliano de Ávila fue la de celebrar reuniones nocturnas con mujeres que le seguían en manada ávidas de novedades. Tras ...esta acusación se esconde una imagen estereotipada, vinculada a la descripción de muchos heresiarcas, que fue explotada por la literatura antipriscilianista. A ello se une la mención a una mujer entre los maestros de Prisciliano para incidir más en el carácter herético del movimiento priscilianista. Esta imagen peyorativa difiere de los ejemplos conocidos de mujeres que siguieron a Prisciliano: mujeres cultivadas pertenecientes a la aristocracia hispana y aquitana. Lejos de ser heterodoxo, el hecho de reunirse con mujeres para la lectura de textos bíblicos se aproxima más a prácticas habituales entre las damas de la aristocracia tardorromana.
Objectives. Study of cross-cultural differences in love attitudes of Belarusians and Chinese.
Background. A large number of cross-cultural studies focus on comparing the psychological characteristics ...of representatives of two polar cultures — individualistic and collectivist. At the same time, little attention is paid to the study and explanation of the differences within each of these cultures. Although it is quite obvious that countries belonging to the same culture may differ significantly due to their cultural-specific features, traditions, state structure, and religions. In this regard, the study was aimed at identifying differences in such a cultural universal as love, namely, in the love attitudes of Belarusians and Chinese, who are representatives of collectivist culture.
Study design. The study was conducted using a survey method. For data processing and analysis, descriptive statistics and Student t-test were used.
Participants. The respondents were 1344 people, representatives of the Belarusian (men, N=544; women, N=560) and Chinese (men, N=120; women, N=120) samples, aged 17-30 years.
Measurements. Love Attitudes Scale by C. Hendrik, S. Hendrik.
Results. Chinese men differ from Belarusian men with higher scores of attitudes Agape, Pragma, Mania, Storge and Ludus. Belarusian women differ from Chinese women with higher Eros attitudes. In turn, Chinese women in comparison with Belarus, have higher rates of Pragma, Storge, and Ludus. At¬titudes Eros and Agape occupy the top position in the hierarchy of love attitudes of Belarusian men and women, and attitudes Agape and Pragma — in Chinese. Ludus, regardless of gender and nationality, has the least power.
Conclusions. The results of the study contribute to the understanding of differences in love styles depending on belonging to Western and Eastern collectivist subcultures.
Цель. Изучение кросс-культурных различий в любовных аттитюдах белорусов и китайцев.
Контекст и актуальность. Большое количество кросс-культурных исследований фокусируется на сравнении психологических характеристик представителей двух полярных культур — индивидуалистической и коллективистической. Вместе с тем практически не уделяется внимания изучению и объяснению различий внутри каждой из этих культур. Хотя совершенно очевидно, что страны, относящиеся к одной и той же культуре, в силу своих культурно-специфических особенностей, традиций, государственного устройства, религий могут существенно различаться. В связи с этим проведенное исследование было направлено на выявление различий в такой культурной универсалии, как любовь, а именно — в любовных аттитюдах белорусов и китайцев, являющихся представителями коллективистической культуры.
Дизайн исследования. Исследование проводилось методом опроса. Для обработки и анализа данных использовались описательные статистики, t-критерий Стьюдента.
Участники. В качестве респондентов выступили 1344 человека, представители белорусской (мужчины, N=544; женщины, N=560) и китайской (мужчины, N=120; женщины, N=120) выборок в возрасте 17-30 лет.
Методы (инструменты). Методика «Шкала любовных аттитюдов» (К. Хендрик, С. Хендрик).
Результаты. Китайские мужчины отличаются от белорусских мужчин более высокими показателями аттитюдов Агапе, Прагма, Сторге и Людус. Белорусские женщины отличаются от китайских более высокими показателями аттитюдов Эрос. В свою очередь, китайские женщины в сравнении с белорусскими имеют более высокие показатели Прагма, Сторге и Людус. Аттитюды Эрос и Агапе занимают верхнюю позицию в иерархии любовных аттитюдов белорусских мужчин и женщин, а аттитюды Агапе и Прагма — у китайских. Людус независимо от пола и национальности обладает наименьшей силой.
Основные выводы. Результаты исследования вносят вклад в понимание различий в любовных стилях в зависимости от принадлежности к западной и восточной коллективистическим субкультурам.
This article presents a radical claim: American medical ethics is broken, and it needs love to be healed. Due to a unique set of cultural and economic pressures, American medical ethics has adopted a ...mechanistic mode of ethical reasoning epitomized by the doctrine of principlism. This mode of reasoning divorces clinicians from both their patients and themselves. This results in clinicians who can ace ethics questions on multiple‐choice tests but who fail either to recognize a patient's humanity or to navigate the ethical quandaries into which they are frequently thrown. Drawing on personal experience as well as the philosophical work of Augustine of Hippo, Simone Weil, and Iris Murdoch, we propose a novel ethical approach grounded in a conception of neighbor love, specifically, the virtue of love understood as attention to a sufferer's humanity. We conclude with five practical recommendations for reimagining medical ethics education oriented around the virtue of love.
In his seminal work The Mind and the Heart of Love. A Study in Eros and Agape, Martin d’Arcy shows that self-sacrificial love (agape) and desire (eros) express the mystery of selfhood. Using the ...method of phenomenology, he demonstrates that eros and agape encompass a range of affectations, emotions and existential modes. All these make sense when seen as stages in the process of self-giving. Thus, eros and agape do not pertain to two opposing aspects of the soul. Rather, they are modes of manifestation of the entire person. In answering to the agapeic love of God, human agapeic love comes to a state which reason cannot grasp. At this point the erotic impulse steps in in order for the human soul to take the path of unknowing. Through this interplay the true hierarchy of being is perceived and the human person enters into loving exchange with the world. This happens within a three-tier process of loving knowledge whose structure is similar to the model of self-knowledge developed in the early Byzantine theological compendium Corpus dionysiacum.
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