Post A0SfpB3eAGcU0apJ2G by sunstone@weirder.earth
(DIR) More posts by sunstone@weirder.earth
(DIR) Post #A0Sau2fQHyUxf7zpnk by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T17:28:06Z
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The ancient Greek concepts of love are fascinating to me. Essentially, there are six distinct varieties of love in ancient Greek philosophy, each with its own nuance and meaning, and I think perhaps we're culturally lesser for not drawing these distinctions in our own world.
(DIR) Post #A0SbAqXIe38exgD3o0 by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T17:31:06Z
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To very briefly summarise, the varieties of love recognised in Ancient Greek philosophy are:• Agape – love and charity to all• Eros – sexual, intimate love• Philia – affection friendship between equals• Storge – familial love, particularly between parents and children• Philautia – self-love and acceptance• Xenia – Hospitality and generosity.Yes, these are brief summaries. Yes there's more nuance. No, don't @ me about it.
(DIR) Post #A0SbQbzQUn9aTpsomu by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T17:34:02Z
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It's sad that our modern culture only seems to recognise Eros as "real" love and everything else is considered lesser somehow.I think this is part of what bothers me about fandom things. An author can work to carefully sculpt any one of these kinds of love between two characters in a story. But no, they looked at each other one time, so now the whole fandom is obsessed with the idea of the two of them banging.For me, it often reduces complexity and makes things feel flat and lifeless.
(DIR) Post #A0ScFBYaX32fGjRfLE by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T17:43:10Z
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For example...Look at Frodo and Sam from LOTR. People love making jokes about how "ohhh, they looooove each other" and... yes. Yes, obviously they do. After everything they go through together, it's one of the best examples of philia I can think of in popular literature. But that fact is devalued because so many people can't even conceive of a form of love which doesn't involve people wanting to get it on.And we should really expand our definitions to include things like friendships as love.
(DIR) Post #A0ScOd5nWaCfH8Twp6 by baerd@eldritch.cafe
2020-10-23T17:44:51Z
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@InvaderXan Thank you, i ignored there was more than agape/eros/philia :blob_cat_aww: I think the way we define our love for someone is more centered on the relation we share (is this my lover? my friend? my family member?) and less on the "way we fell it".
(DIR) Post #A0Sca0XUgsFxBBrWN6 by swift@merveilles.town
2020-10-23T17:46:54Z
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@InvaderXan the marriage therapy book we've read/worked through some of starts out with an entire prologue dedicated to two things:1) establishing the author's credentials/authority on the subject.2) defining terms for distinct things we bundle under the umbrella term "love", the conflation of which is the source of most miscommunications/misunderstanding around the subject.
(DIR) Post #A0Scg8oIqrUWZMeJKS by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T17:48:03Z
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@baerd I think it's more than that though. Like, unless you're actually in an intimate relationship with someone or you're still a young child, it isn't usually even considered love in Western culture. I wonder how much that has to do with homophobia TBH.You're right though, we should all really focus more on what we actually feel.
(DIR) Post #A0Sctb2fCMWhtPmYV6 by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T17:50:27Z
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@swift Interesting. Seems a logical thing to do. We have so many different concepts all bundled into a single word in our language. No wonder people end up with such hangups and anxieties over it.
(DIR) Post #A0Sdu9m8A18TZQscls by baerd@eldritch.cafe
2020-10-23T18:01:46Z
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@InvaderXan Yes there is a real challenge when it comes to understanding or describing our feelings, even with no (or far far less) homophobic/patriachal pressure
(DIR) Post #A0Sf391uOxknop6rsO by carcinopithecus@x0r.be
2020-10-23T18:14:36Z
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@InvaderXan @baerd failing to discuss and seek help about real, pressing, and actually solvable problems in one's personal emotional life because that would totally be gay or something
(DIR) Post #A0Sf4Y0V1RJvZe7TG4 by carcinopithecus@x0r.be
2020-10-23T18:14:53Z
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@InvaderXan @baerd failing to discuss and seek help about real, pressing, and actually solvable problems in one's personal emotional life with one's closest peers because that would totally be gay or something
(DIR) Post #A0SfPEy30QhAbZq83s by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T18:18:36Z
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@carcinopithecus @baerd Sad truth is, the world is full of cis men who genuinely think like this
(DIR) Post #A0SfpB3eAGcU0apJ2G by sunstone@weirder.earth
2020-10-23T18:23:14Z
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@InvaderXanSanskrit also has an interesting ontology for various types of love!https://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/25-perfectly-beautiful-sanskrit-words-that-describe-love-and-consciousness/Bonus: attached image is a terrible list of translations for a ton more “synonyms”
(DIR) Post #A0SgBcFnjNqkj6D9bE by sunstone@weirder.earth
2020-10-23T18:25:10Z
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@InvaderXan (I just realized I pasted the wrong link. I’m looking for the right one now 😞 )
(DIR) Post #A0SgBdPlPpPgKHsclc by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T18:27:19Z
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@sunstone I'd be curious when you do find it. I know very little about Sanskrit!
(DIR) Post #A0SgorIliWrygrJNVg by sunstone@weirder.earth
2020-10-23T18:30:37Z
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@InvaderXan This isn’t the exact page I was thinking of, but...https://www.innervisionyoga.com/ask-the-yogi-love-in-sanskrit/Plus these, in Pali, from the Buddhist traditionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmavihara...give a pretty good idea that the way we use the word “love” in contemporary English is pretty limited.
(DIR) Post #A0SgorXepAmNR2HGiW by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T18:34:27Z
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@sunstone Strange really, that English managed to become so limited when other cultures had such nuance...
(DIR) Post #A0ShJKMeEBNpVueeJc by InvaderXan@writing.exchange
2020-10-23T18:39:58Z
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"Xan, why are you talking about this stuff on your writing account?"You'll see, imaginary voice. You'll see.
(DIR) Post #A0SslBoihNP8bpH0pU by lrhodes@merveilles.town
2020-10-23T20:48:13Z
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@InvaderXan Some Christian denominations draw (some of) those distinctions, at least rhetorically, with explicit reference to the Greek conceptions. Broadly, that's the result of 20th century textual analysis surfacing those distinction in the Greek texts of the New Testament— the contrast between philia and agape being central— but C.S. Lewis' explication of the terms probably helped mainstream the subject for Protestants.
(DIR) Post #A0TJHyqoWd1ol9Y7Y8 by TransrationalScience@dobbs.town
2020-10-24T01:45:29Z
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@InvaderXan Don't forget the best one, Ludus - playful, non-attached love.
(DIR) Post #A0TouZFuibYPFaAYsK by QueenMollyBones@queer.party
2020-10-24T07:39:07Z
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@InvaderXan This is fascinating, thank you.
(DIR) Post #A1S9YrNBdOkZnvJyd6 by wilbr@glitch.social
2020-11-22T10:13:51Z
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@InvaderXan I wonder where the idea of romantic partnership falls among these categories. I'd never ask an uncle or colleague for emotional support, or to cook me food, nor would I be as supportive or do such favors for them, as with my wife. I wonder if modern relationships have new parameters of intimacy born of circumstance and culture, or if we just frame them differently in our thinking and words