more than a feeling
Jenna Gritser
Intro to Philosophy
5/10/13
More Than a Feeling
This paper will dispute that love is more of a choice than a feeling according to Fromm’s thesis regarding love. Fromm thoroughly discusses love in a capitalist society and with that being said I will concur that love is full of virtue requiring time and personal growth. In the bible, it is said that choice is a command that you cannot control therefore if love is a command it has to be act of the individuals will. In order to understand love in a capitalist society which has lead Fromm to believe that love is choice, we need to know what a capitalist society consists of. In today’s culture, a capitalist society revolves around the “me” aspect. Based on materialism, relativism, and individualism society as a whole has excluded spiritual and focuses more on the physical. Love has been labeled as superficial because of how society has interpreted it. Even though you may feel that you “love” someone it is his/her choice to act upon it. Moreover, if that someone is not up to his/her standards that could be the deciding factor whether you choose to love them or not. In Fromm’s book The Art of Loving he primarily concentrates that love is not simply just a feeling or an emotion but also deals with actions. This is where superficial love comes into play again. Love involves three things that will really ensure that he/she is in love. First comes discipline, where most people have a tough time connecting to. Love is difficult because the stakes are high therefore discipline will train to hone his/her skills in relationships. Second comes concentration on love. Concentrating more on the heart rather than superficial matters. Lastly, he/she needs patience. In todays society “I Love You” seems to be the three hardest words to say but gets thrown around as if it means nothing. If you rush to say I love you it tends to complicate the relationship. In these situations love get confused with lust. Most of
Intro to Philosophy
5/10/13
More Than a Feeling
This paper will dispute that love is more of a choice than a feeling according to Fromm’s thesis regarding love. Fromm thoroughly discusses love in a capitalist society and with that being said I will concur that love is full of virtue requiring time and personal growth. In the bible, it is said that choice is a command that you cannot control therefore if love is a command it has to be act of the individuals will. In order to understand love in a capitalist society which has lead Fromm to believe that love is choice, we need to know what a capitalist society consists of. In today’s culture, a capitalist society revolves around the “me” aspect. Based on materialism, relativism, and individualism society as a whole has excluded spiritual and focuses more on the physical. Love has been labeled as superficial because of how society has interpreted it. Even though you may feel that you “love” someone it is his/her choice to act upon it. Moreover, if that someone is not up to his/her standards that could be the deciding factor whether you choose to love them or not. In Fromm’s book The Art of Loving he primarily concentrates that love is not simply just a feeling or an emotion but also deals with actions. This is where superficial love comes into play again. Love involves three things that will really ensure that he/she is in love. First comes discipline, where most people have a tough time connecting to. Love is difficult because the stakes are high therefore discipline will train to hone his/her skills in relationships. Second comes concentration on love. Concentrating more on the heart rather than superficial matters. Lastly, he/she needs patience. In todays society “I Love You” seems to be the three hardest words to say but gets thrown around as if it means nothing. If you rush to say I love you it tends to complicate the relationship. In these situations love get confused with lust. Most of