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About Love: Reinventing Romance for our Times
A subtle and distinguished work by a philosopher renowned for his groundbreaking analysis of human emotions, About Love
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
15 people are currently reading
240 people want to read
About the author
Robert C. Solomon
124 books172 followersRobert C. Solomon (September 14, 1942 – January 2, 2007) was a professor of continental philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin.
Early life
Solomon was born in Detroit, Michigan. His father was a lawyer, and his mother an artist. After earning a B.A. (1963) at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to the University of Michigan to study medicine, switching to philosophy for an M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1967).
He held several teaching positions at such schools as Princeton University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh. From 1972 until his death, except for two years at the University of California at Riverside in the mid-1980s, he taught at University of Texas at Austin, serving as Quincy Lee Centennial Professor of Philosophy and Business. He was a member of the University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Solomon was also a member of the inaugural class of Academic Advisors at the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics.
His interests were in 19th-century German philosophy--especially Hegel and Nietzsche--and 20th-century Continental philosophy--especially Sartre and phenomenology, as well as ethics and the philosophy of emotions. Solomon published more than 40 books on philosophy, and was also a published songwriter. He made a cameo appearance in Richard Linklater's film Waking Life (2001), where he discussed the continuing relevance of existentialism in a postmodern world. He developed a cognitivist theory of the emotions, according to which emotions, like beliefs, were susceptible to rational appraisal and revision. Solomon was particularly interested in the idea of "love," arguing against the notion that romantic love is an inherent state of being, and maintaining, instead, that it is instead a construct of Western culture, popularized and propagated in such a way that it has achieved the status of a universal in the eyes of many. Love for Solomon is not a universal, static quality, but an emotion, subject to the same vicissitudes as other emotions like anger or sadness.
Solomon received numerous teaching awards at the University of Texas at Austin, and was a frequent lecturer in the highly regarded Plan II Honors Program. Solomon was known for his lectures on Nietzsche and other Existentialist philosophers. Solomon described in one lecture a very personal experience he had while a medical student at the University of Michigan. He recounted how he stumbled as if by chance into a crowded lecture hall. He was rather unhappy in his medical studies at the time, and was perhaps seeking something different that day. He got precisely that. The professor, Frithjof Bergmann, was lecturing that day on something that Solomon had not yet been acquainted with. The professor spoke of how Nietzsche's idea asks the fundamental question: "If given the opportunity to live your life over and over again ad infinitum, forced to go through all of the pain and the grief of existence, would you be overcome with despair? Or would you fall to your knees in gratitude?"
Solomon died on January 2, 2007 at Zurich airport. His wife, philosopher Kathleen Higgins, with whom he co-authored several of his books, is Professor of Philosophy at University of Texas at Austin.
Early life
Solomon was born in Detroit, Michigan. His father was a lawyer, and his mother an artist. After earning a B.A. (1963) at the University of Pennsylvania, he moved to the University of Michigan to study medicine, switching to philosophy for an M.A. (1965) and Ph.D. (1967).
He held several teaching positions at such schools as Princeton University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Pittsburgh. From 1972 until his death, except for two years at the University of California at Riverside in the mid-1980s, he taught at University of Texas at Austin, serving as Quincy Lee Centennial Professor of Philosophy and Business. He was a member of the University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Solomon was also a member of the inaugural class of Academic Advisors at the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics.
His interests were in 19th-century German philosophy--especially Hegel and Nietzsche--and 20th-century Continental philosophy--especially Sartre and phenomenology, as well as ethics and the philosophy of emotions. Solomon published more than 40 books on philosophy, and was also a published songwriter. He made a cameo appearance in Richard Linklater's film Waking Life (2001), where he discussed the continuing relevance of existentialism in a postmodern world. He developed a cognitivist theory of the emotions, according to which emotions, like beliefs, were susceptible to rational appraisal and revision. Solomon was particularly interested in the idea of "love," arguing against the notion that romantic love is an inherent state of being, and maintaining, instead, that it is instead a construct of Western culture, popularized and propagated in such a way that it has achieved the status of a universal in the eyes of many. Love for Solomon is not a universal, static quality, but an emotion, subject to the same vicissitudes as other emotions like anger or sadness.
Solomon received numerous teaching awards at the University of Texas at Austin, and was a frequent lecturer in the highly regarded Plan II Honors Program. Solomon was known for his lectures on Nietzsche and other Existentialist philosophers. Solomon described in one lecture a very personal experience he had while a medical student at the University of Michigan. He recounted how he stumbled as if by chance into a crowded lecture hall. He was rather unhappy in his medical studies at the time, and was perhaps seeking something different that day. He got precisely that. The professor, Frithjof Bergmann, was lecturing that day on something that Solomon had not yet been acquainted with. The professor spoke of how Nietzsche's idea asks the fundamental question: "If given the opportunity to live your life over and over again ad infinitum, forced to go through all of the pain and the grief of existence, would you be overcome with despair? Or would you fall to your knees in gratitude?"
Solomon died on January 2, 2007 at Zurich airport. His wife, philosopher Kathleen Higgins, with whom he co-authored several of his books, is Professor of Philosophy at University of Texas at Austin.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Want to read
January 5, 2009He was my professor at University of Texas in Fall of 2006, the last semester before he died. He told me I wrote like an angel. I loved him, he was brilliant. I want to read everything he wrote
April 14, 2009
Primarily an existentialist scholar (his guides to philosophy are brilliant), Solomon turns philosopher himself in this engaging examination of love. Like a good philosopher, Solomon takes things to the bottom, questioning why and if love can exist at all, then constructs possible meanings that it can have in lived life. A beautiful, personal effort.
December 31, 2024
Nuestra concepción sobre el amor suele estar basada en ideas intuitivas que obtuvimos a lo largo de la vida. Robert Somolon no sólo permite clarificar estas ideas, sino que también nos ayuda a reformularlas haciendonos ver que nos llevar a un camino equivocado acerca del amor.
La idea central de este libro consiste en postular que el amor es el intento de construir con otro una identidad compartida. Es decir, cada uno de nosotros vendría a ser un "self" individual. Por supuesto, esta identidad se conforma a partir de nuestra interacción con otros. Lo importante en el amor es que dos personas "renuncian" a parte de esa identidad para dar lugar a un "self" compartido. Otra metáfora interesante es la de la inversión. Cada uno de esas identidades "invierte" su propia identidad (y su tiempo, dinero, etc.) en construir un yo compartido con otra persona. Todas las vicisitudes de una relación romántica dependen de cuanto estamos dispuestos a invertir para construir ese nuevo self.
Solomon cuestiona la idea de sentido común según la cual el amor es algo que tiene mucha intensidad al inicio, y luego, de manera natural, tiende a desvanecerse. Por supuesto que esa intensidad inicial, propia de primera una etapa de enamoramiento no es eterno. El problema es pensar que lo que sigue a esa etapa de enamoramiento es un mero entumecimiento emocional. Al contario, el amor es un proceso que suele mejorar su calidad cuanto mayor sea tiempo transcurrido. Uno de los motivos por los que puede ocurrir el desvanecimiento del amor es porque uno de las identidades que se ponen en juego no se siente dichosa del rol que ocupa en la pareja.
Sin dudas, este libro nos deja varias reflexiones interesantes acerca de uno de los temas más ubicuos de nuestra sociedad pero quizás de los que menos comprensión tenemos.
La idea central de este libro consiste en postular que el amor es el intento de construir con otro una identidad compartida. Es decir, cada uno de nosotros vendría a ser un "self" individual. Por supuesto, esta identidad se conforma a partir de nuestra interacción con otros. Lo importante en el amor es que dos personas "renuncian" a parte de esa identidad para dar lugar a un "self" compartido. Otra metáfora interesante es la de la inversión. Cada uno de esas identidades "invierte" su propia identidad (y su tiempo, dinero, etc.) en construir un yo compartido con otra persona. Todas las vicisitudes de una relación romántica dependen de cuanto estamos dispuestos a invertir para construir ese nuevo self.
Solomon cuestiona la idea de sentido común según la cual el amor es algo que tiene mucha intensidad al inicio, y luego, de manera natural, tiende a desvanecerse. Por supuesto que esa intensidad inicial, propia de primera una etapa de enamoramiento no es eterno. El problema es pensar que lo que sigue a esa etapa de enamoramiento es un mero entumecimiento emocional. Al contario, el amor es un proceso que suele mejorar su calidad cuanto mayor sea tiempo transcurrido. Uno de los motivos por los que puede ocurrir el desvanecimiento del amor es porque uno de las identidades que se ponen en juego no se siente dichosa del rol que ocupa en la pareja.
Sin dudas, este libro nos deja varias reflexiones interesantes acerca de uno de los temas más ubicuos de nuestra sociedad pero quizás de los que menos comprensión tenemos.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2019
A magisterial essay on romantic love by a fine philosopher and author or popper works on philosophy. Though the essay may seem a tad old, it retains great force and interest. I very much admired this fellow.
April 29, 2022
horse shit
June 28, 2008
A fantastic philosophical perspective of Love Theory. Solomon is positively brilliant! A must read for those who are truly thoughtful about how romantic love should exist.
August 15, 2008
Very practical advice and ideas I found useful.
December 12, 2014
This book was just as good the second time around.
July 20, 2016
this book will change your life
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews