Philosophy of Love

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course is an exploration of the nature of love and its place in a good life. We'll start by asking what love is: is it a union (or at least a desire for union) with another, or a special kind of concern for another, or a way of seeing another's value? We'll then turn to a central debate about what justifies loving someone: is love justified by a person’s qualities, by the shared history of a relationship, by the value of persons themselves, or is love ultimately beyond such justification? Then, we'll turn to love's ethical significance. We'll consider whether love for particular others is in tension with the ethical ideals of fairness and impartiality, as well as the possibility of love being at the center of all ethics. We'll explore a few different kinds of love (romantic, familial, and friendship), reflect on ways love can sometimes go wrong, and ask whether love is essential to living a meaningful life.