Love: An Unromantic DiscussionISBN: 978-0-7456-2072-5
Hardcover
184 pages
December 2002, Polity
Other Available Formats: Paperback
|
This highly original book explores two aspects of the nature of
the apparently socially essential 'glue' of love. The first theme
concerns the sources of our ideas about love: where the concept
originated and, most importantly, what its relationship has been to
morality and moral systems. The second theme is our determination
to find love: whatever the social and personal costs, the desire
for identification with another person drives us to impossible
expectations and occasionally damaging alternatives.
In a compelling critique, this book rejects the high romantic version of love as well as what could be described as a contractual version of love. In their place, it describes a love that depends upon reasoned care and commitment and argues that we should abandon love in its romanticized and commercialized form.