THE IDEAL LOVE: PLATONIC OR FROMMIAN?
THE IDEAL LOVE: PLATONIC OR FROMMIAN?
Author(s): Chan-Yuan WongSubject(s): History of Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions, Special Branches of Philosophy
Published by: Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk i Fundacja Filozofia na Rzecz Dialogu
Keywords: Ideal love; Plato; Erich Fromm; dichotomy
Summary/Abstract: In this paper, I compare two theories of ideal love, the Platonic and Frommian, and argue that they give opposite advices to lovers in practice. While Plato emphasizes “whom to love” and urges one to continuously look for a better beloved, Erich Fromm emphasizes “how to love” and urges one to grow and change with one’s imperfect lov-er. Using the movie Her as an example, I explain why an ideal love is extremely diffi-cult to attain under the guidance of the Platonic and Frommian ideals. In an imperfect love, to leave or to stay seems to be a question with no simple answer.
Journal: Dialogue and Universalism
- Issue Year: 2017
- Issue No: 4
- Page Range: 137-146
- Page Count: 10
- Language: English