Love: Emotion, Myth, and Metaphor - Hardcover

Robert C. Solomon

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9780385141185: Love: Emotion, Myth, and Metaphor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385141181 ISBN 13: 9780385141185

Publisher: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1981

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Love - our hearts yearn for it, we fall into it or out of it, we'll do almost anything to attain and keep it. Those who have experienced the "power of love" whirl from its embrace. It is delicious anguish, gut-wrenching pain, and intoxicating allure. Nations go to war over it, crimes are committed to satisfy its demands, lives are often ruined because of it, and extraordinary feats of courage and sacrifice are performed in its name. But beyond the cliches and greeting card platitudes, do we really understand what love is, and how it alters the way we think, feel, and behave?

Should love be viewed as little more than a lusty romp, or is there more to it? What is the relationship between love and romance, caring, concern, compassion, thoughtfulness, sex, and the many other components that our society jumbles together in this potent potpourri whose power can give strength to the weakest among us, or turn powerhouses of strength into emotional mush.

It is precisely because love is such an important part of our lives that we owe it to ourselves to reach beyond overwhelming passion and the roadblocks of illusion to achieve real understanding of this extraordinary human phenomenon. It won't always be easy - in fact, it's sometimes quite painful. But the rewards are many for those who will risk exploring their own cherished attitudes about a subject that has held us in its grip for centuries and shows no signs of letting go.

Some of the topics covered are:
- What I Feel in My Heart
- On the (Alleged) Origins of Romantic Love

- What Do I Want When I Want You?
- Why Do I Love You?

- The Importance of Being Honest
- Love, Sex, and Intimacy

- Beyond Sex and Gender
- What's So Good About Love?

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About the Author:

Robert C. Solomon (1942 - 2007) was an American professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught for more than thirty years. He authored and edited more than forty-five books, including The Passions, About Love, Ethics and Excellence, A Short History of Philosophy with Professor Kathleen Higgins, A Better Way to Think about Business, The Joy of Philosophy, Spirituality for the Skeptic, Not Passion's Slave, and In Defense of Sentimentality. He also wrote about business ethics in Above the Bottom Line, It’s Good Business, Ethics and Excellence, New World of Business and A Better Way to Think about Business.

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