Classics Considered

Gage Skidmore [ CC BY-SA 2.0 ], via Wikimedia Commons Previously: The Art of Loving - A Ramble on Chapters 1–2.1 This post will be rather more disjointed than my first one, as these sections left me with more questions than conclusions.  Bear with me! As for the picture - especially in this part, I was having flashbacks to 12 Rules for Life , and anyone who found value in that book should probably read this one (and vice-versa). Chapter 2.2, "Love Between a Parent and a Child" The big theme of this part was Fromm's definition of fatherly and motherly love.  He describes motherly love as unconditional, forgiving, and organic to the mother-child relationship - C. S. Lewis's "Gift-Love," in other words, with no limit.  Motherly love and validation of the child is present whether the child "deserves" it or not.  Fatherly love, by contrast, is rules-based and must be earned in order to be granted: Since [Father's] love is conditioned...

This month, Cleo is hosting a readalong of The Art of Loving (1956) by Erich Fromm and On Friendship by Cicero. It's a sequel to the Four Loves Readalong - which feels recent but was actually back in June(!!).  Fromm and C. S. Lewis were contemporaries (and Lewis's book was published just four years later), so it adds interest to see how their perspectives correspond or differ.  I'm also looking forward to Cicero, as I haven't read many ancient classics. You can find the full schedule on Cleo's post.  I felt the need to break down my check-ins a little more, so this one will cover the first 1 1/3 chapters. Chapter 1, "Is Love an Art?" Fromm opens with his short but pithy thesis - that love is not just a flurry of feelings, but an actual scientific art, like music or medicine, which must be learned and practiced. He posits three interrelated societal problems.  First, culture is overly focused on the state of "being loved," particul...