Another excellent piece of writing Brittany. I believe it is perfectly timed to write about this subject as with the transition from one year to the next many people will consider what is important looking forward into this coming year and I’m sure fostering love and appreciation for others would stand out. I really enjoyed your reminder that virtue is about joy, not sacrifice. Thank you!
Outstanding piece Brittany- I read this classic nearly 50 years ago, when my older sister gave me a copy in high school- no idea that it had such obvious links to Stoicism… your writing continues to be so helpful- looking forward to reading more on this theme!
I often think about this standing vs falling in love dichotomy, which also applies to happiness. Sure, happiness and love are things we can experience through happenstance due to exposure to externals we find pleasing, but their manifestation is mediated by internal disposition.
Both emotions can be generated through concentration and discipline, as you write. And for those of us who lack an automatic sunny dispositions due to our habitual casts of mind, it takes conscious reframing and concentration to go beyond these random bouts of happiness/love to make them a regular feature of our life.
I recently wrote a substack email about a simple technique I use to "turn on," happiness through concentration. I feel like the loving-kindness meditation of Buddhist philosophy works the same way for love.
I wonder what spiritual exercises/explicit instructions of this nature we're missing from the Stoic literature. I wonder what the Stoics would make of this sort of meditation? Would they see it as falling inside prosoche?
Thank you, Brittany, for this enriching post. It's fascinating what parallels exist here and also the timing of Ellis' REBT - like you write, too much to be merely coincidental. Makes me want to grab my copy of “The Art of Loving” straight away and follow your thoughts.
I'm interested:
Did you find any traces of a similar concept to the Stoic oikeiôsis in Fromm's work? Something about how to enlargen your love from yourself to others, how to learn to include all mankind in your loving and giving attitude?
This is very good Brittany and has been on my mind recently and for a very long time.
One of the reasons we have so many problems in the world, and so many failures in relationships, is that many people have no idea what love really is. Even though there is an incredibly deep tradition in the Western world about the nature and purpose of love, it is not even noticed or considered today.
I suppose that's the triumph of the consumer society over deeper human values?
Lovely read! 😊
Another excellent piece of writing Brittany. I believe it is perfectly timed to write about this subject as with the transition from one year to the next many people will consider what is important looking forward into this coming year and I’m sure fostering love and appreciation for others would stand out. I really enjoyed your reminder that virtue is about joy, not sacrifice. Thank you!
Outstanding piece Brittany- I read this classic nearly 50 years ago, when my older sister gave me a copy in high school- no idea that it had such obvious links to Stoicism… your writing continues to be so helpful- looking forward to reading more on this theme!
Great piece.
I often think about this standing vs falling in love dichotomy, which also applies to happiness. Sure, happiness and love are things we can experience through happenstance due to exposure to externals we find pleasing, but their manifestation is mediated by internal disposition.
Both emotions can be generated through concentration and discipline, as you write. And for those of us who lack an automatic sunny dispositions due to our habitual casts of mind, it takes conscious reframing and concentration to go beyond these random bouts of happiness/love to make them a regular feature of our life.
I recently wrote a substack email about a simple technique I use to "turn on," happiness through concentration. I feel like the loving-kindness meditation of Buddhist philosophy works the same way for love.
I wonder what spiritual exercises/explicit instructions of this nature we're missing from the Stoic literature. I wonder what the Stoics would make of this sort of meditation? Would they see it as falling inside prosoche?
I needed to read this today, thank you.
A wonderful and perceptive essay. Thank you!
Thank you, Brittany, for this enriching post. It's fascinating what parallels exist here and also the timing of Ellis' REBT - like you write, too much to be merely coincidental. Makes me want to grab my copy of “The Art of Loving” straight away and follow your thoughts.
I'm interested:
Did you find any traces of a similar concept to the Stoic oikeiôsis in Fromm's work? Something about how to enlargen your love from yourself to others, how to learn to include all mankind in your loving and giving attitude?
This is very good Brittany and has been on my mind recently and for a very long time.
One of the reasons we have so many problems in the world, and so many failures in relationships, is that many people have no idea what love really is. Even though there is an incredibly deep tradition in the Western world about the nature and purpose of love, it is not even noticed or considered today.
I suppose that's the triumph of the consumer society over deeper human values?