Man as Lover

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Man as Lover

• Teilhard de Chardin
• Erich Fromm
• Fr. Vitaliano Gorospe

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3 Points of View on Human Love

• Teilhard de Chardin
• amorization or love among cells where each
  healthy cells nourish themselves for individual
  growth while also looking at the welfare of one
  another
• A superior being is not the juxtaposition of
  millions of cells but the disappearance of their
  individuality for the unity of the whole

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Teilhard de Chardin

• True love desires the others good
• Emphasizes that living beings need others like
  themselves, that sexual love unites spiritual and
  carnal love, that there is no normal
  man outside of normal human relationships
• That man has a duty to love

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Paul Chauchards elaboration of de Chardins
concept of Love

• He distinguishes animal sexual love and true
  love. Animal sexual love he says is an automatic
  reaction much like hunger reactions. Among
  inferior creatures such as the butterfly,
  sexuality is a pure automatic reflexthere is no
  knowledge of another through individual choice.
  Birds and mammals display an emergence of a love
  in a true sense when prior to occurrence of
  reflex of coupling, choice and courtship take
  place.

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• Further he says, mans principal sexual organ is
  his superior brain responsible for both superior
  aspect of his love and possibility of mastering
  his genital reflexes.
• Ideally he adds, it is a humanized love
  respectful of persons that is the learned way of
  satisfying sexual need.

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• Moreover, it is natural for animals to be guided
  by instinct but if man thinks he is obeying
  instinct which he does not have, he dehumanizes
  himself imitating animals rather than being
  guided by his superior nature. Man are
  reflective, animals are relexive
• The psychology of sexual love reestablishes unity
  between spiritual and carnal love. Purely carnal
  love denatures man while permanent monogamous
  marriage based on love and including self-mastery
  is the only natural carnal union for the human
  species.

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Erich Fromm

• He considers love as an art
• Two things he talks about
• The theory of love whereby he posits love as an
  active power in man and it is characterized by
  giving which is the highest expression of ones
  potency.
• Care, responsibility,respect and knowledge he
  says are elements in love

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• The practice of love which requires
  discipline,concentration,patience,and supreme
  concern with the mastery of the art of love
• other qualities needed to love well are
  overcoming narcissism, objectivity,humility, and
  faith

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Fr. Vitaliano Gorospe

• He talks of 4 characteristics of love
• Love is mutual and reciprocal
• Love must be expressed
• The paradox of love- It is better to give than
  to receive
• Love is creative

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• Two dimensions of Love
• Love of desire (eros)
• Love of friendship (agape)
• The basis of love is similitude and
  participation people in love must have something
  in common and someone in common and that someone
  is GOD

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• The Filipino concept of Love
• Two main qualities which are woven from man-woman
  love theme are fidelity and service/paglilingkod
• Other values are respect (paggalang),
  gratitude(utang na loob), and mutual sharing
  (pakikisama)

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• In conclusion, all three authors agree on the
  view that love is an eros-agape relationship,
  that of self and of the other

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End