On love
Subtitle: a philosophy for the twenty-first century
By: Luc Ferry ; translated by Andrew Brown
Contributors: Brown, Andrew (Literary translator), translator; Capelier, Claude, author
Publisher: Polity
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 180
ISBN-13: 9780745670171
Subjects: Philosophy; Love
Work titles: De l'amour
Description: "All the great ideals that gave life meaning in earlier societies--God, the nation, revolution, freedom, democracy--are in disarray today, widely questioned, and rejected outright by the many people who have lost faith in them. But there is another value, rooted in the birth of the modern family and in the passage from traditional to modern marriage, which has transformed our lives in profound and often unrecognized ways: love. It affects not only our personal lives but many aspects of our social and collective life, too, from art and education to politics. In this book, Luc Ferry shows how the quiet rise of love as the central value in modern societies has created a new principle of meaning and a new definition of the good life that requires a completely different kind of philosophical thinking. It forms the basis for a new philosophy for the twenty-first century and a new kind of humanism for the modern world--not a humanism of reason and rights, but a humanism of solidarity and sympathy. The ideal behind this new realism has nothing to do with nationalism and revolution: it has moved beyond the organized violence that was driven by deadly and often inhumane principles. Instead, it aims to prepare and ensure a future for those we love most: our future generations."--Jacket.
Notes: Conversations with Claude Capelier.

Originally published in French as De l'amour © Editions Odile Jacob 2012.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : A brief history of the meaning of life; title: The revolution of love : a new principle of meaning; title: Politics at the dawn of a new era : from the revolution of love to care for the fate of future generations; title: On the spiritual in art and education; title: Conclusion : death, the only objection? Love, a utopia?