The Erotic Phenomenon

While humanists have pondered the subject of love to the point ofobsessiveness philosophers have steadfastly ignored it. One might wonderwhether the discipline ... » 

While humanists have pondered the subject of love to the point ofobsessiveness philosophers have steadfastly ignored it. One might wonderwhether the discipline of philosophy even recognizes love. The word philosophymeans love of wisdom but the absence of love from philosophical discourseis curiously glaring. So where did the love go? In The Erotic PhenomenonJeanLuc Marion asks this fundamental question of philosophy while revivinginquiry into the concept of love itself.Marion begins his profound and personal book with a critique of Descartesequation of the egos ability to doubt with the certainty that one existsIthink therefore I amarguing that this is worse than vain. We encounterbeing he says when we first experience love I am loved therefore I am andthis love is the reason I care whether I exist or not. This philosophical baseallows Marion to probe several manifestations of love and its variationsincluding carnal excitement selfhate lying and perversion fidelity thegeneration of children and the love of God. Throughout Marion stresses thatall erotic phenomena including sentimentality pornography and even boastsabout ones sexual conquests stem not from the ego as popularly understood butinstead from love.A thoroughly enlightening and captivating philosophical investigation of astrangely neglected subject The Erotic Phenomenon is certain to initiatefeverish new dialogue about the philosophical meanings of that most desirableand mysterious of all conceptslove. «