Case 2 1

Case 2

English 1301

Lecturer: J. Vacca

XX Month Year

Word count: 1338

LOVES. WHICH IS THE GREATEST?

Most people believe in to be the best and most superior of the different kinds of , this is widely accepted in modern American culture which is emphasized by artists with their songs and movies every now and then. Basically there are four different kinds of love named from four different Greek words as follows- which denotes , (philos) which denotes , Eros for and which signifies an unconditional or selfless love.

Over the past decades, many have had debates on which is the greatest of the four with a vast number of opponents putting varying arguments in line. From my research and findings, it is prove against all odds that agape which is a selfless, is the best and most superior of all.

Firstly, we have storge which means “affection” in ancient and Modern Greek. It is fondness through familiarity, especially between members or people who have otherwise found themselves together by chance. Lewis a right-wing writer describes storge in a short but very powerful sentence as “the most natural, emotive and widely diffused of ”, Lewis claims that storge is the greatest of the four. There is some truth to Lewis’s argument in that-it is natural because it is present without coercion; emotive because it is the result of fondness due to familiarity; and most widely diffused because it pays the least attention to those characteristics Case 2 2 deemed “valuable” or worthy of love and as a result is able to transcend most discriminating factors. There is some truth to this but ironically its vulnerability depends on its strength. So what will happen if the strength of the impacts it creates on people was not strong? Very awkward. Also Lewis makes mention of it as being fondness through familiarity, what becomes of people without a family? Don’t they love? They obviously do. In storge people come to expect or even demand hence there is the tendency of discrimination against those who cannot keep up to the expectations. True love knows no bound and is free of discrimination; hence storge cannot be the greatest as it is not discrimination free.

Secondly, we have philia which denotes friendship. Philia and its meaning can be best recognized from the name Philadelphia, that is, the city of brotherly love. Philia is based on friendship which is the strong bond existing between people who share common interest or activity, a concept developed by Aristotle. Philia is commonly manifested in and children relationship. According to Irene, Aristotle attributed philia to be a virtuous love and includes loyalty to friends and family alike. Aristotle was of the opinion that it is the greatest of all as it binds and friends together. Aristotle claims that people only live happily when they have philia as an appendage of their lives. Aristotle was somehow right with his points but looking at it from a different angle he did not cross the finish line. He overlooks such cases of those without friends or families. Don’t they live? Don’t they smile every day? They obviously do. According to the immigration statistics of the number of single immigrants in the United

States, there are a lot of immigrants especially from Africa without their parents with them but yet they live happily and are even more reasonable than the born American children who live here with their parents. Just of recent a twenty one year old from Chicago shot his but Case 2 3 luckily to the arm just because the father asked why he was drunk. Is this loyalty? Hmmm.. I don’t think so. Not to talk of cases where parents abandon their children. Is that the philia love that we want? Never. So how on earth can philia be considered the greatest form of love, maybe in the other planets. So lets forget philia.

Furthermore, we have eros which denotes romance. This is a passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Modern Greek word “erotas” means “intimate love;” however, eros does not have to be sexual in nature. interprets eros as a love for someone whom you love more than the philia, love of friendship. It also applies to dating relationships as well as . From my research and study eros is far from best but Plato together with middle-aged

Athenian philosopher Socrates argue with aristocratic intellectuals that eros is the best saying that eros helps the recall knowledge of beauty, and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth, the ideal “form” of youthful beauty that leads us to feel erotic desire and continual happiness. Plato is of the view that eros is at the basis of our existence and hence is the greatest of all four kinds of love. Plato further says that “erotic lovers always tend to have a high supply of dopamine in their brains making them feel happy even in the saddest of situations”. However, looking at the article “true love” written by Lauren Slater, one sees a lot of controversial issues to Plato’s points. According to Slater, eros can make a modest person do the the worst of things like the case where a married woman strips naked to get a tattoo. More so, based on Slater’s analysis eros is dependent upon the situation and circumstances. As long as a couple is enjoying a romantic situation, eros can thrive. But, as soon as hurtful words or actions appear, eros simply evaporates. In addition to that, according to Slater, eros is also held captive to each person’s perception. For example if someone perceives a quiet evening dinner with candle Case 2 4 to be romantic, eros thrive. However, becomes squashed for someone whenever he or she interprets the current situation to be undesirable. Eros thus grows strong and then wastes away based on our perceptions. Slater’s points counter those put forward by Plato. Also Plato is of the opinion that eros is necessary for happiness as in marriages. This cannot be true as the unmarried people live. Some are even happier than married men. Although eros at times might make us feel we are on cloud nine, it cannot not provide the basis for building a deep and meaningful relationship as it so fickle and dependent upon perception and circumstances hence not the best.

Moreover, we have agape which denotes an unconditional love in modern day Greek. It often refers to a general affection or deeper sense of “true love” rather than that supported by

“eros”. Agape is used in the biblical passage known as the “love chapter”, 1 Corinthians 13, and as described there and throughout the New Testament as sacrificial love. Agape is the most important of all kinds of love because it links not just Christians together but the entire society as a whole. It denotes feelings for one’s children and the feelings for a . Some writers like

Huddleston-Casas, Catherine A., and Li-Wen Lin are against agape as being the greatest as he claims that it has it short comings. Lin claims that agape love often induces feeling of guilt or incompetent in a partner. He also claims that in its deviant form agape can become a martyrdom bringing the example of Jesus Christ who died as a martyr. There is some truth to this but without the death of Jesus on the cross, mankind could have been doomed for all eternity, "Greater love (agape) hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." -

John, 15:13, Just imagine the case of beggars on the streets, without this unconditional love, what will become of them? They will starve to death for nobody will help them. Agape is truly the Case 2 5 greatest of all as it is love that brings forth caring regardless of the circumstances.

Finally, looking at the real meaning of love, love is kind and just, it is giving and not expecting something in return, it is loving without boundaries, sacrificing in the worst of circumstances, as seen from the above agape is truly the most superior of all because it links not just individuals together but the society as a whole.

SOURCE CITATTION:

Slater, Lauren. “True Love.” Science.nationalgeographic.com National Geographic Society, 2006

February. Web. 20 April 2012.

Huddleston-Class, Catherine A., and Li-Wen Lin. “Agape love in couple relationships.” and Family Review 37.4 (2005): 29+. Academic Onefile. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/plato. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, national Wikipedia, 17 Sept.

2011.Web. 22 Apr. 2012.

Lewis, Clive. “.” All about Lewis, Illinois Marion E Wade, 2001. +160. Via text books.