It is notable that these are rough categories of love and not exclusive to each other.
Likings and preferences (for food, activities, etc) are also discussed especially as you can admire an object (like a painting for instance) just as you can admire a person. Lewis, while modern animal rights proponents might argue for the inclusion of animals in general in agape, but love for nature and love for country are most noted as love for non-human things. Love for an animal (such as a pet) is redirected to storge according to C. It was so important to the Greeks that its patron was Zeus himself, in the epithet of Zeus Xenios.Īlso referenced as a minor note are loves for non-human things. Translated precisely as "guest friendship", we know it today as the Ancient Greek concept of Sacred Hospitality. Or to put it another way, agape strongly overlaps with I Just Want My Beloved to Be Happy: when seeing the person you love be satisfied is enough to satisfy you, even if you get nothing else out of it.Ī fifth love, rarely mentioned in modern times, was called "xenia". Agape builds the soul, fosters emotional health and self-confidence. It may be difficult to explain the differences between a Martyr Without a Cause and someone who's accepted agape love into their heart, but they exist one key distinction is that one might love a vile monster even while actively opposing him/her, even to the point of a Mercy Kill, like a mother might love a son that passed the Moral Event Horizon a long, long time ago and needs to be put down. When you love you cease to live for yourself you live for another person."Īgape is never self-destructive it is not the willingness to sacrifice oneself that, say, someone with a Guilt Complex would have. Dick put it "Love is (.) like a father saving his children from a burning house, getting them out and denying himself. On its part, agape infuses the other loves, making them true and keeping Love Makes You Evil at bay - without agape, the other ('earthly') loves are prone to turning into selfish possessiveness. not emotion, although emotions can provide a "booster rocket" into agape and are a natural way of attaining it. If you really have the kid's best interests in mind. Letting your kid stuff himself with sweets is not love, telling him "no, you can't have all this candy right now, because it'll make you sick" - is. Agape is a decision to put the other person's good before your own, note Not pleasure - good. Agape (Unconditional Love) - This is the love that brings forth caring for the other regardless of circumstance.But! If it's reciprocated, but not true, Love Martyr, Masochism Tango and similar tropes will lurk around. In fact, if it's reciprocated and true, the couple tends to be happy in most dire circumstances, as long as they're together (Lewis specifically mentions Laugh of Love as an indicator of true eros). Eros does not have to be reciprocated - if it's one-sided, but true, expect I Want My Beloved to Be Happy, otherwise Love Makes You Evil (or If I Can't Have You ) might ensue. (This is distinct from sexuality - platonic Courtly Love is also Eros.) Lewis calls sexuality "Venus", and while it can concur with Eros, on its own it's not a love, just desire (not to be confused with Lust, which is this desire expressed in a sinful way). Eros (Romance) - This is love in the sense of "being in love".Desperately Craves Affection is another way the need for storge can manifest. Go Mad from the Isolation may happen to people deprived of it, even if they're technically not on a desert island. both sides of the Happily Adopted will, by definition, have storge for each other (wouldn't be happy otherwise). While the archetype of storge is family, it doesn't need a blood relation - e.g. In fact, human children (and other mammals - see cloth mother and related experiments) have been observed to not develop right when deprived of storge. Lewis says storge is a very basic human need, comparing it to food - if you think you can do without, it's not a good sign, just like lack of appetite can be medically alarming. The archetype of storge is mother's love for her children - and the children's love for mom. It's usually, but not always, reciprocated. Storge (Affection/Family) - This is fondness through familiarity, especially among family members or people who have otherwise found themselves together by chance, note See here for an analysis of why we don't have so much of storge nowadays.This trope applies when a character's main motivation is to love, be loved or both.īecause the word "love" can apply in many situations and circumstances, the ancient Greeks divided the concept of love into four different types (later expanded upon by C. Everyone needs to love and be loved in return.