Some key Western concepts on love

Topics

❖ Socrates / Plato: desire for truth & role of will in the moral life (based on Symposium and Phaedrus) [5th-4th c. BCE., Greece]
❖ Aristotle's Four Types of Love (as presented by Isaac Singer in The Nature of Love) [4th c. BCE, Greece]
❖ Basic Christian principles
❖ Passion (in Christianity—typical and mystics [our example is 16th c. Spain] and troubadours [our example is 12th c. France], compared to East Asian thought systems that honor the golden mean, Moorish and flamenco pagan positions [our example is modern])
❖ Individual rights: the Magna Carta [13th c. England]

Thoughts

I argue that love in the West is primarily situated within a sacred discourse coming out of European Christendom. We look at Plato and Aristotle as the original philosophical positions for Christian discourse.

Plato's argument regarding the good-beauty-truth is pervasive in his works; for the chariot allegory see Phaedrus (sections 246a - 254) The notion of "soul mates" also comes from Plato (The Symposium, Arestophanes dialog).

Aristotle — eros, philia, agape, nomos. For a good discussion of Aristotle's view of love (eros, philia, agape, nomos) see Isaac Singer, The Nature of Love (vol. 1). This is an excellent three volume set that will be useful to some of you. (Students are required, for their paper, to use at least one strong academic source on the topic of love.) Another "classic" on Western love, despite its shortcomings, is Denis de Rougement's Love in the Western World.

"Troubadours" (medieval Europe) who sung in praise of women, among other things. Mention less for them as a group — though they are very interesting — but rather for the cultural notion of "putting a woman on a pedestal".

Introduced a Western cultural romantic value that is fairly widespread but not historically a part of Christendom: macho. I speak briefly about "macho" traits and Flamenco dance that is formulated within those notions of hyper-masculine identity and bluster. I mention the proscription that women are to support their errant husbands through nurturing and forgiveness in the image of the Virgin Mary. This is an interesting coupling of non-Christian values for the men and Christian values for the women. We consider the "bad" woman presenting within the stereotype of the gypsy (non-Christian) seductress, endowed with a passion and self-love similar to the macho male figure. In this context we listen to the masculine display (and celebration of those values) in the aria from Bizet's "Carmen" (synopsis, lyrics and a note about "black eye") commonly titled "Toreador's Song". We then look at the traits as interpreted within Flamenco and film in Carlos Saura's 1983 "Carmen" (primary dancer is Antonio Gades, very famous for his flamenco). The original "Carmen" is a novella by Prosper Mérimée (19th c. French writer), 1845.

Christian mystic discussed: Theresa of Avila (16th c. Spanish nun)

Required or suggested to be completed for today's session

✓ Strongly suggest: Since the reading load will quickly get heavy, read now these sections of Course Basics (sidebar link) — • Some key terms • Definition of "love" • What this course isn't • Primary theme & goals • Secondary goals • Main topics • Boundaries • Assumptions • Rules

Other

Material that might be shown in class on this day:

• Triangles (bSpace, PPT)
• Flattened Triangle (in class only)
• Plato's Chariot Allegory (on site, Course Basics)
• Aristotle's four types of love (on site, Course Basics)
• "Mild und leise wie er lächelt" (Isolde's Liebestod) (Jessye Norman performing, Herbert von Karajan conducting)(6:45)
• Wagner - Liebestod Scala 2007 Barenboim (Waltraud Meier conduction) (7:48)
• Video clip "City of the Dead (Die tote stadt)" (segment directed by Bruce Beresford in the 1987 film Aria) that is based on Eric Wolfgang Korngold's 1920 opera City of the Dead which itself is based on the 1892 novel Bruges-la-morte which tells the story of a man who has lost his love and finds in another woman such a resemblance to her that he moves to her decaying city to be close to her. The name of the song is "Gluck, das mir verblieb" also called "Marietta's Song" (City of the Dead, Act 1, Scene 5).
• Toreador's Song (bSpace, PPT)
• Carlos Saura's Carmen (Spain, 1983—the primary dancer is Antonio Gades, very famous for his flamenco). The original "Carmen" is a novella by Prosper Mérimée (19th c. French writer), 1845.
• Troubadour cantos by Bernart de Ventadorn (fl. 1145-1175) of southern France, titled "Can par la flors josta.l vert folh" (When flowers are in the leaves green) with recording excerpt from "Amor de Lonh — The Distant Love of the Troubadours" (Nimbus Records, 2000)

*UNDER CONSTRUCTION: If this red font phrase underneath the session title has not been erased it means something on this page is incomplete. Perhaps I want to recheck information or perhaps I haven't converted the page from the version of the previous class. It is available but should be taken dubiously.

*ABOUT THIS SESSION: My hope is that you look at this portion BEFORE a session. If there is content here it might help you focus on the main points of the day. However, I add various things here at various times. When I feel I haven't succeeded in class stating something clearly, I might restate it here. Of if it is a difficult concept in might be given in written form here. I will assume that you have read and rechecked for changes this session in preparation for any midterm or test.