Among the three earthly loves (Eros, Storge and phileo), phileo has shaped and continues to shape human behavior. Aristotle uses the word philo widely as compared to ‘friend’ friends aspire good things to each other depending on how their friendship is. The subtitles of the study include Scholarly Proof of the Argument, The Refutation Argument and the Agape love
The two earthly lovers that are not dominant human motivators are Eros and Storge. . The word eros is a Greek word that means erotic in English; it means all the things starting with sick stomachs and warm fluffy feelings to strong physical fervor. Eros love is what many individual’s means at the time they smile and say the phrase “am in love.” This word Eros is defined as an expression of sexual feeling affection for sex or the arousal that individuals who are bodily attracted to each other share. Storge has the origin from the Greek word that means love. It is a vague word for the affection of parents to their children, it is also known as love of the family. In Greek the term means the affection that occurs naturally.
To rescue the dark side of philos love, Agape love sees the answer and shares the finding with anyone who is having the problem. The church has an obligation of explaining moral order in the society to educate the world on dangers and powers of philos love.
Introduction
When Jesus was commanding his followers to love these who were enemies to them, he showed that people have the capability of choosing to love anybody; he exposed love as a pin of being discipline by saying love one another. Among the three earthly loves that exist, that is Eros love, Storge love and Phileo love, phileos love has shaped and continues to shape human behavior. To prove this, there are several literatures on the internet, books and philosopher’s works. The word eros is a Greek word that means erotic in English; it means all the things starting with sick stomachs and warm fluffy feelings to strong physical fervor. Eros love is what many individual’s means at the time they smile and say the phrase “am in love.” This word Eros is defined as an expression of sexual feeling affection for sex or the arousal that individuals who are bodily attracted to each other share. Storge has the origin from the Greek word that means love. It is a vague word for the affection of parents to their children, it is also known as love of the family. In Greek the term means the affection that occurs naturally. Phileo is the love of brotherliness love is the love that deals with affection.
Philos Love
This is the form of love that individuals have towards families, friends and the neighbors. It involves the affection and thanks to others. It involves the maintenance of right relations with those close to you. Family is the closest and then closest friends. The rule is that these are individuals one aspires to keep near, and maintain loyalty with. It motivates since one or both parties involved gains. For family case there exist a strong bond between parents and children, brothers-sister and mother-father. This result to arise to a happy family as a gain, for fellow workers, it ensures enjoyable workplace for all. Philos is believed to be the most exercised form of love in the society (Todd, 2007).
The Expanded Premise
Strengths offered by phileos love
The degree of friendship is high to due highest degree of honesty, integrity, obedience, understanding and intimacy. The love mostly brings people together by associating with each other which in turn improves their relations. When someone is in problem they are assisted by others to resolve the issues which are disturbing them using brotherly love which makes people to sympathize on the situation of one another and assist them. People keeps on making mistakes in life they are advised on what to do or even counseled by those who love them with a brotherly love in anticipation that they will rehabilitate and rectify on areas which they had been doing wrongly.
Weaknesses offered by Phileos Love
The relation may suffer from boredom, absence of passion, selfishness and fear. The love is also conditional each party involved in the love always accept each party to reciprocate by giving back an equal love as being given. This requirements and demands which must be met by the lovers make it much difficult to maintain the love for long. Therefore, there are instances which the love would cease to exist because the requirements are not being met. This love is also characterized with reconciliations whenever parties involved in love have broken up and it does not exist any longer and they would want to be in love again. The love is also judgmental unlike agape love which is love of God which is being loved unconditionally.
The Prove of “Light” and “Dark “qualities of Phileo Love the premise
Keeping the deeds in light and nothing in the dark as a result of integrity and honesty are the cards that bring hope and perspective in times that are hard and encourage one anther to realize their potentiality fully and try to get each other from the positions that are miserable.
Obedience among lovers’ results to self-assurance and joy in the relationship and try to find harmony and peace with others hence creating a thirst in other people’s live life to get friends
The point of selfishness in this kind of love is natural way leads reward as expected in loving the beloved. Boredom makes people desire to get other friends become their greatest friends (Todd, 2007). The fear of breaking the bond that is common in phileos love and feeling rejected. Instead of welcoming people into the bond as God’s love is like.
Plato
The Socratic psychology extended by Plato as part from being happy it includes everlasting happiness. Lucanus, (2010) explains that this is achievable through the transmission of someone’s bodily life to children or emotional life to a lover. Happiness tally as one’s as is a continuation life that one has lived. Love changes the beloved’s attention from individuals, via dos, rule and science to beauty, till the objective is to beautify his essence by form’s light. According to Phaedrus, the beloved reminds the lover friendly and beauty forms he knew previous to birth companion forms how he knew them. After which he aspires to create life sharing companion, philosophically ideal to restore after death. In public the ideal of pederasty holds between sexes and marginalize erotic love. The objective of the rule of philosophy is relationship that makes all inhabitants united, although they have different duties so as to identify each other and using the word ‘mine’ to one each others success and suffering (Lucanus, 2010).
Aristotle
In defining and classifying friendship, Rackham, (2004) Aristotle uses the word philo widely as compared to ‘friend’ friends aspire good things to each other depending on how their friendship is. For instance utility friends as for example these who are partners in business, aspire one another to be important, these under pleasure like lovers aspire to be lovely, while in virtue, aspire to be excellent. Among all this being excellent is inherent, and benefit intrinsically to friends themselves only virtue-relations can represent the good will of loving other individual for themselves, and aspiring the individual fine for the sake of their own. This defines philia in a strict manner. Being happy consists an action and not the mind’s state. Via gains and co-operation actions upon and inside friend’s B’s existence making likely activities by B, that A owe B and count as A’s in addition, to end their life overlapping. Friends hunt together the actions that they value most; practicing even philosophy constantly in a group is possible. Every one might improve due to one another, copying from him the impression of the traits that he is pleased with. Aristotle does not have the enthusiasm for pederasty that Plato has, instead he admit that familiarity a gentleman and a youngster can give rise to similar traits, it might produce a lasting relationship.
Although he sees ladies and gents being unequal naturally, he permits a certain form of virtue-relations to connect husband and wife, every one having an enjoyment in the appropriate virtue of one another. Towns are created for the living, but appear to serve living well; via civic togetherness, the self-interests motives are well-established by kindness, as every inhabitant comes to wish every body to be excellent because of his own sake. Ladies are supposed to contribute to civic relationship indirectly through their effects on the household on their husbands (Rackham, (2004).
Epicurus
According to Lucanus, (2010) the hedonistic ethics of Epicurus hands further difficulties emerges. The relationship inspires gracious feelings that are consistent with exclusive pursuit pleasure of an individual doubtfully. Relationship ground is utility as it gives us little of our friends’ assistance as it is a protector and origin of pleasure. Individuals rejoice in the joy and pained in pain of their friends as if it is theirs’. The Bible says that blessed are these who give more than they take. Either joy or pain one runs a friends’ risk and even go to extend of dying on behalf of the friend. Then Epicureans explain on the way of taking joy of others. Fast the association of utility is formed. Though out of familiarity, affection arises to love friends for the sake of themselves and enter the contract to love them as ourselves. Either arise or adopt, new pleasures are made possible by the attitude of altruism. Hedonism discriminates, disparage pleasure of love.
Living in agreement with nature by practicing virtuous was the objective of stoic. Relationships are neither good in themselves nor essential for happiness. Only good individuals who don’t contend for inadequate freight become friends, but join to maintain wisdom and exercise virtue, with the rule that to benefit the other one benefit himself. Hence serving yourself is social.
Familiarization at a personal level cultivates values that are common hence for a wisdom uniting solidarity. Earlier stoic tolerated erotic friendship than Epicureans.
Zeno
Making love according to Zeno was evaluated indifferently. Boy or girl, boy-much loved or unloved beloved. The real value of being in love for the wise means the apparent beauty is motivation. Simultaneously visibility and morality of possible righteous but undeveloped; a relation that fosters the virtue is the objective. Constantly with that motivation and objective, the proper objects of love are the youngsters aged below 28. Zeno outdo Plato by politicizing love (Lucanus, 2010).
The Course Literature
A pair of Ticket story proves that philos love motivates an individuals’ behavior, since the girl lived America she is not ready to accept that she is a Chinese, till the closeness of her twin sister after the mothers death that brings the affection between the two. This is proved when “on a train in china, June feels her mother was right, she is becoming Chinese, even though she never thought there was anything Chinese about her.” In the blood of the martyrs the quote that “the blood of the martyr is the seed of the church”. Meaning that there is affection to the martyrdom, as they continue increase in number than the church continues to grow. In the literature till we have faces, the family love mother-daughter and brother to sister is so strong that even gods are questioned. As she say “….when I was happiest I longed most. It was in the happy days that we were up there on the hills, the three of us with the wind and the sunshine…”
The Refutation
Motivation and Emotions
According to the book “Till we Have Faces” Lewis calls phileos love to be the most spiritual and its motivation is very high. Its absence may lead to deficiency. He goes a head explaining that Eros love just leads to procreation while storge love is just concerned with rearing of the family. Philos love agrees with the psychologists who claim that conflict prevention and the libido are the main motivators according to psychology. According to economists, motivation is rooted on incentives which may be financially, morally or cohesiveness. Happiness is the condition of emotions. Some define it as the being free from need and sorrow. In the book Blood of Martyrs the love that is explained to have existed during early times of Christianity. People were ready to sacrifice and other inexplicable deeds for the love of others. As a result most human behaviors are majorly controlled by emotions, though in history societies and philosophers have reasons to discourage this notion and research on it. Pleasant emotions like love admiration and joy differ with unpleasant ones such as sorrow (Nelmes, 2007). Philos love gives emotions which are learnt in social way while the eros and storge forms of love provide emotions which are oriented as survival techniques.
The book Arose for Emily signifies that other people affect the way others behave. The town people didn’t have phileos love for Emily, that is way they reject her but still love her because of the personal gains. When she dies people do not attend funeral because of respect but just for the respect of an icon that has fallen. This can be related to eros love.
The Agape Love
This is the love that is unrestricted and forever giving and taking it is impossible. Commitment is needed to seek one’s top best no matter how anyone’s reaction. In the Old Testament that was originally written in Hebrews where there is no other words of love like phileo and Agape. In the New Testament phileo is used in 25 circumstances while agape or agapeo has been used 262 times.
Ion Jesus and Peter discussion in the book of John 21 Jesus uses agape while peter remains using phileo till Jesus also uses phileo.
The Agapes Love Qualities
This love involves sees the answer and shares the finding with anyone who is having the problem, this kind of love does not involve judgment and will forever tolerant with anything that have to be educated, it neither have demands nor requirements at all, it entails whole truth as it doesn’t change whatsoever happens around it to change, since of time periods does not exist in heaven so does it to this love, it provides forgiveness that is unconditional for anything as it transcend the issue of wanting forgiveness (Nelmes, 2007).
Preventing Philos Love Spoilage
The Agape love teaches that the bad company should be avoided as they just lead worse things n life and delight during misfortune.
It teaches one individuals to yearn for the Lord and reflect the love of God.
The Agapes love teaches the philos love only to give and avoid taking and the removal of conditions that exists in philos love. It prevents it from requesting things and encourages giving all because all individuals are children belonging to the love of Agape (Nelmes, 2007).
Individuals naturally recognize that taking is not good while giving is inherent and it does not have any form of loss. Giving truly is the same as creating but not losing the gift. The gift grows and extends once given and shared. Because people are God’s creation and likeness, they should not take.
This love teaches that giving truly, is hardly seen in physical degrees because the physical world Agape love has nothing to do with it, as the world is rooted upon receiving many upon giving and having little. However, true love is rooted on issuing via sharing while knowing that one has nothing to loss (Nelmes, 2007).
The Direction Given By Agape Love
Not anything can be taken, no material thing matter, losing is not there, not anything needs to be given,
God’s love is not afraid and holds the purpose of God worldwide. One should not use the energy in life to heart other people. Also it directs being obedient to the commandments of God leads to self-assurance and joy in life
The World Improvements by Agape Love
There are many improvements that have occurred due to the presence of Agape love. First in history the universe itself was made due to the Agape’s love. Also there are changes in the economic rules as they would not exist without the love of Agape; this exists both in service economy and industrial economy. The concept of truth could not exist without this kind of love. The sovereignty of different governments was brought up due to this form of love. Also the concept of civilization is the product of this love (Nelmes, 2007).
The Role of Church in Being the ‘Light’
According to Miraclerosarymission, (2010) the church has an obligation of explaining moral order and spreading Agape love. The church obligation is not only devotion of spreading love but being the watch tower the light which encompasses that which is right toward almighty God. The church as the torch bearer should be the light which directs the army of God, as life is full of battles which we must overcome. Then the duty of the church is to provide manual and blue prints of how to tackle moment which are trying to their followers. The emphasis that God is love should be imitated by all. The church should help root this on the dignity of every individual. Every one was created in the God’s image and likeness, having a destiny that is immortal.
The church should offer eternal salvation found in the God’s kingdom. It should encourage people to leave material life, it teaches people to practice agapes love that does not entail material belongings. The church should assist its followers to overcome their addiction, inabilities and attain eternal life. This is because the church shapes the world and is the only voice that exists for the poor and the exploited ones in the universe.
The church should attempt to uproot the dark side and negativity armored with only love. Spreading the gospel is one major thing that the church should adhere to mitigate evil from oppressing Gods people. Spreading love and assisting the needy is another major way that the church can win over the heart of the troubled through care and love. Being a watch dog over political stands and not getting involved in politics but setting out moral judgment on the constitutional agendas. The church should offer therapeutic assistance for all the broken heart and those whose faith has been dented by negative things in life.
The church should lastly be a role model for the followers as Jesus was to his disciples, setting standards which they are able themselves to uphold. A mirror which outward reflection details Agape love as the dominant force which fuels the church, this should be injected to the followers through prayers and biblical teaching, this will nurture them spiritual and make them be aligned with Gods commands which is the true will of Jehovah for the church. This dignity comes from God; hence no one can provide it but through his words and commandments. Obeying this law, results to exacting aims on society or to a person by the church.
Conclusion
Among the three forms of earthly love (Eros, Storge and Phileo), it is found that phileo shaped and continues to shape human behavior. This is proved by the influence which phileo love on the effect of human beings relation with each other. Human beings can not live in isolation and they are social therefore despite of their new environment where they would stay they will always socialize with those in their neighborhood. Such close interaction and care for each other people keeps on supporting each other whenever they are in need. In defining and classifying friendship, Aristotle uses the word philo widely as compared to ‘friend’ friends aspire good things to each other depending on how their friendship is. The church has the responsibility of educating the people on phileos love by explaining moral orders in the community, social orders, teaching through example of fighting the rights of the poor and these that are oppressed, teaching Eternal orders and practicing hierarchal kind of leadership.
While godly love which is also known as Agape love is not judgmental live phileo love and has no conditions like in phileo love which one would always accept the other person who is being loved to reciprocate. Due to its nature of not having requirements or demands to be met it’s therefore referred to as the most appropriate love to be practiced and emulated in other types of loves as well. Phileo love keeps on changing depending on how people relate to each other while agape love does not change.