Ellisha Thomas
4/24/16
Section 4
Philosophy
Dr. P. Oliver
When it comes to love we all know people have their own opinions about. The tricky thing about it is that everyone experiences it in their own ways and even in different forms. I mean let us be real, people still expect love to happen the same way it does in a hallmark movie. Like seriously? If that does happen there’s really two reasons why; one, your one of the lucky ones or two, your there must be a lot happening behind the scenes. Don’t get me wrong I believe in love and that everyone has the chance to have it but why does media of any kind give us this unrealistic version of it? Why do we love? Do we love for a reason or it is some biological thing in our body?
Through the years’ philosophers have made their own views and beliefs about love. Including in the Symposium, Plato’s present the love of wisdom as the highest form of love and philosophy as a refinement of our sexual urges that lead us to desire wisdom over sex. I thought this wasn’t true because in society now a days do to the fact that most relationships revolve around sex. In other words, we only want physical love because we are not aware of the greater form of beauty which are thoughts and ideas. In his mind the purest and most fulfilling form of love we could ever achieve is wisdom, therefore the pursuit of wisdom is the truest form of looking for love. He also stated that why we love is that love makes us whole again. He said that at one point we were one person with four arms until they angered the Gods and Zeus split them in two. This is why we try so hard to find someone to make us feel whole again. At least this what Plato stated to believe.
In my own opinion this idea of of love is not accurate and fails to carry the meaning of what love really is in life. What is the definition of Love? What is the pursuit of true love? Its about finding someone that completes you that makes your heart skip a beat when you’re around them. Its about finding the thing or person that makes you understand who you are and helps you be the best version of you there is. True love could even be about finding peace, whether it be another person or doing something that brings peace in your life. It could even being going to a restaurant finding that one thing on the menu that literally makes you feel the happiest you’ve ever felt. True love can come in many different forms and through different experiences in life. For Plato, true love might be the pursuit of knowledge and philosophy, however its not true for everyone. Love has different definitions, forms and names. No opinion about love or how we love is better than the other nor is one love is greater than the other.
"why does media of any kind give us this unrealistic version of it?" - Well, there's an old Groucho Marx gag (retold by Woody Allen at the end of his film "Annie Hall") about the man who thinks he's a chicken. Punch line: "We need the eggs." In other words, media give us the Hallmark version of love because it sells, and it sells because we think we need it.
ReplyDeleteBut, is it really true that "most relationships revolve around sex"? Don't most of us have more "platonic" friends than lovers? Then again, I'm remembering the Billy Crystal character in "When Harry Met Sally"...
"at one point we were one person with four arms until they angered the Gods and Zeus split them in two. This is why we try so hard to find someone to make us feel whole again. At least this what Plato stated to believe" - actually Plato rejected that view, as articulated by Aristophanes. But I'll bet most of us find it more appealing than Plato's own "higher love" that tries to transcend its physical expression.
I agree with you, we shouldn't reduce love to only one thing or definition.