The Nature and Pursuit of Love (Psychotherapy) Hardcover - 1995

The nature and pursuit of love has been an abiding concern of philosophers. While feelings of love may be universal among human beings, ideas about it are particular to a culture or historical period, ranging from the elitist assumptions of Plato to the pluralistic ideals of the late twentieth century. For some forty years renowned philosopher Irving Singer has written on the nature and pursuit of love. His books include The Pursuit of Love; the monumental three-volume work, The Nature of Love; Mozart and Beethoven: The Concept of Love in Their Operas; and The Goals of Human Sexuality. Singer's approach to love in philosophy, literature, music, and psychology is classical throughout, inasmuch as it arises out of the distinction between eros and agape as conceptual forces that underlie much of the Western tradition. Singer's explorations of Freud and Santayana guide his thinking. Both his historical analyses and his own philosophizing express an abiding respect for the play of imagination in science, literature, and art. Most of the essays collected in this volume were originally delivered in a three-day colloquium at Brock University. Together with other essays written specially for this volume, they reflect Singer's broad interests while also focusing on his key distinction between love as appraisal and bestowal as elements in the definition of love. These provocative essays by nineteen contributors examine a great variety of historical and philosophical topics that deal with the nature and the pursuit of love in the context of Singer's approach. Two interviews with Singer precede the essays, which are followed by his response entitled "A Reply to My Critics and Friendly Commentators".