Love: A History

Philosopher May (Atomic Sushi) reexamines the Western notion of love arguing against the illusions%E2%80%93not to be confused with characteristics%E2%80%94of love, namely unconditionality, eternity, and selflessness. May begins his argument by deconstructing the root of these ideas; starting with the Hebrew Bible, he reviews stories such as God ordering Abraham to sacrifice his son, and concludes that %E2%80%9C[w]e should model human love not on how God is said to love us but on how we are commanded to love God.%E2%80%9D Delving through the New Testament, May provides numerous examples of conditional love. With detailed excerpts and discussion, he explores a wide range of the philosophies about love, including those of Plato and Socrates; Spinoza, Schlegel, and Novalis; Nietzsche, Freud, and Proust%E2%80%94and how the concept of human love changed over time. May finds that our expectations of love are out of line with reality%E2%80%94that unconditional, eternal, and selfless love may be an ideal that is impossible or extremely rare. However, people continue to seek love because they need %E2%80%9Contological rootedness,%E2%80%9D which brings %E2%80%9Ca rapture that sets us off on%E2%80%94and sustains%E2%80%94the long search for a secure relationship between our being and theirs.%E2%80%9D May%E2%80%99s argument is not groundbreaking but his discussion of the philosophies provides a coherent narrative that is aided by his illustrative writing. (June)