The Pursuit of Love

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by Irving Singer

Johns Hopkins University Press

Due/Published September 1995, 182 pages, paper

ISBN 0801852404

"Love is not merely a contributor--one among others--to a meaningful life. In its own way it may underlie all other forms of meaning."--from the Introduction

In his widely acclaimed trilogy, The Nature of Love, Irving Singer traced the development of the concept of love in history and literature from the Greeks to the twentieth century. Now, in a sequel to his previous work, Singer offers a different approach. A "systematic mapping" of the various facets of love, the present volume is an extended essay that offers a philosophical and psychiatric theory of his own. From sexual love to religious love, from love of parents and children to love of friends and peers, from love of self to love of other creatures, nature, or God, The Pursuit of Love is wide-ranging and authoritative. Singer explores the distinction between wanting to love and wanting to be loved. He examines love as merging and love as acceptance of another's uniqueness and autonomy. And he discusses attempts by various thinkers to differentiate between phenomena such as passion and reason, love and civilization, and animal and human love. In mapping and exploring this diversity of concepts, Singer explains, his role throughout remains that of a humanistic philosopher rather than counselor or problem-solver. Rich in insight into literature, the history of ideas, and the complexities of our being, The Pursuit of Love is a thought-provoking inquiry into fundamental aspects of all human relationships.

"The Pursuit of Love is a unique achievement in that it demonstrates the relation between love, value, and meaning. It is overall a work of great wisdom that I found to be illuminating and personally enriching."--Arnold H. Modell, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School