Show 048 was about the true meaning and nature of romantic love, in light of the recent celebration of Valentine’s Day. Contrary to popular belief, love is not selfless, but instead, very selfish. Gary Hull puts the idea of a selfless love to rest in his article on romantic love, Love and Selfishness.
Love, we are repeatedly taught, consists of self-sacrifice. Love based on self-interest, we are admonished, is cheap and sordid. True love, we are told, is altruistic. But is it?
Imagine a Valentine’s Day card which takes this premise seriously. Imagine receiving a card with the following message: “I get no pleasure from your existence. I obtain no personal enjoyment from the way you look, dress, move, act or think. Our relationship profits me not. You satisfy no sexual, emotional or intellectual needs of mine. You’re a charity case, and I’m with you only out of pity. Love, XXX.”
Needless to say, you would be indignant to learn that you are being “loved,” not for anything positive you offer your lover, but–like any recipient of alms–for what you lack. Yet that is the perverse view of love entailed in the belief that it is self-sacrificial.
Mosley and Arthur elaborate this on the show and discuss other related issues. Check it out!! And we hope you had a happy, selfish Valentine’s Day!
Listen to this show and more at Talkshoe.
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