Philosophy of Love

Some people believe that there is no such thing as "true love" they believe that love is nothing but an illusion designed by social expectations. These people believe that love ultimately turns into pain and despair. This idea in some ways is true. Love is not eternal it will come to an end one way or another, but the aspect that separates true love from illusion, is the way love ends. "True Love" is much too powerful to be destroyed by Human imperfection; it may only be destroyed by a force equal to the power of love. Diotima believed that "Love is wanting to posses the good forever" In other words love is the desire to be immortal and the only way that we are able to obtain immortality is through reproduction, and since the act of reproduction is a form of sexual love, then sexual love is in fact a vital part of "True love". Sexual love is not eternal. This lust for pleasure will soon fade, but the part of love that is immortal, is a plutonic love. You can relate this theory to the birth of love that Diotima talks about. She says that love was born by a mortal mother and immortal father. The mother represents the sexual love, the lust for pleasure. The father represents the plutonic love that is immortal. Plutonic love is defined as a true friendship, the purest of all relationships. A true plutonic love will never die; it transcends time, space, and even death.

Platonic love is in my opinion, the most important and vital aspect of love. Without platonic love people are incapable of actually knowing the object of their desire. If no was able to have a platonic love, then the world would full over people how only desired physical pleasure, instead of that "greater good" that Diotima speaks of. This notion would agree with Rusoue theory of "free love." Rusoue believed that there is no such thing as a "greater good" and all love is, is just a need to feel pleasure, instead of a need to be loved. I disagree completely with Rusoue. I refuse to believe that love is driven solely by lust. This idea in my opinion is completely ludicrous.

Love is the most mystifying and complex emotion that we have. What's the difference between Platonic love, and Sexual love? Which love is real? What does it really mean when someone says those three words "I love you?" It's a common misconception that one is separate from the other, when in fact these