Guided by Instinct: Feeling Evolutionary and Political Patterns

Part 4/10 – Falling Into a ‘Shared Life’: The Examination of Love and the Driving Force

“You are the reason I never think twice.”

-Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler “This is How You Fall in Love”

In this part of the series, I will be examining the topic of love and how this emotion moves, shapes and sometimes even revolutionizes our political environments (from a philosophical perspective). Love is an important matter to discuss because any human passion with a multifarious nature is bound to influence political societies in immeasurable ways, indirectly impacting the reality of each political being and the myriad of sensations they experience which are generated from this passion. These feelings authenticate our individual political realities whether we want them to or not, in other words, love is contrary to civil society in that it is disorganized, ethereal, and absolutely, out of our control.

Presumably, Plato also felt that the topic of love (in Greek, “erộs”) was worthy of deeper contemplation and documents his illustrations about it in The Symposium, where he presents his thoughts in the form of a dialogue, inviting the reader to analyze this wonderous passion, and the desires that arise from it. However, because the topic of “love” is so rich in complexity, I will be focusing my attention specifically on romantic love, which is opposite to what we commonly refer to as “platonic love” in contemporary societies. I will attempt to illustrate the unique quality of this passion and how this type of love can either motivate or demotivate our political spaces.

Falling in love, is a unique form of “erộs” to experience because it is uncontrollable in nature. In other words, this passion is neither premeditated nor artificially created; it is natural, in that our human instincts guide us toward this love and they/she/he who embodies it. This form of love is innocent because there are no ulterior motives that cultivate it and no artificial purposes that nurture its growth. However, just because it is innocent in spirit does not mean that it is lacking in power. Not only can this emotion cause passionate sexual desires to develop within the human body, but these desires are irrepressible in nature because they are uniquely connected to the human mind and soul as well.

When two souls connect as one, each soul becomes part of the other essentially. This soul connection can occur in the case of both romantic and platonic love to the extent that when those souls are not together, it can cause pain for those experiencing this connection. When a human feels this connection in the form of romantic love and this passion is either unrequited or being restrained by forces out of their control, it can cause high degrees of frustration for that individual because their physical desires and needs are not being met. This sexual frustration “can manifest differently in everybody. For some people, it may present as generalized anger or agitation, for others, depression, and anxiety. And for some, as recklessness” according to one source.

For better or worse, sexual desire remains the driving force of nature which means that all political structures that have been built on top of nature are at the mercy of these desires. This force can sometimes even be strong enough to move and shape these structures in ways that remain largely undetectable to those actively controlling them because it is motivating something that will have a very subtle yet long-lasting affect on the political landscape as a whole and the societies that walk all over it.

“When motivated by sexual desire, we develop vaster imaginations, courage, willpower, persistence and creativity that we weren’t even aware of. Sometimes the sexual energy within us is so strong that we are willing to actually die, hurt others or risk imprisonment to fulfill them. Imagine if we could harness this energy and use it towards other, greater purposes?” (Sol 2018)

According to Plato, Socrates also thought of love as a very powerful force that could produce a type of energy great enough to shift an entire political landscape because it is simply and beautifully “the source of all our happiness.” In The Symposium, Socrates discusses this topic with one of his fellow Athenians, Aristophanes, and explains to him how this type of love, “marked by self-control and justice, at the human and divine level” can sometimes even be strong enough to “affect the movements of the stars and the seasons of the year.” He states that when these elements are influenced by “well-ordered love, they are in harmony with each other and achieve a temperate mixture.” He believes this form of love even has the power to bring “good harvests and health to other animals and plants.” Conversely, he warns that when the “[hostile] and violent” love dominates the seasons, it can cause damage and destruction to the earth and its atmosphere. Socrates says that “these conditions tend to produce epidemics and other abnormal diseases for beasts and plants.” It is very interesting, of course, to now ponder these reflections in our current state of affairs and consider the level of influence that “[hostile] and violent” love may have had on bringing about the pandemic that surrounds us now.

Socrates reflections on romantic love are also very meaningful because he challenges the reader/listener to question their/her/his own perspectives about “beauty” of the human body and the limitations one sometimes places on oneself if they pursue beauty of form. He says that in this case, “it is very foolish not to regard the beauty of all bodies as one and the same” because this attitude can then “relax” this intense passion for just one body type and inspire one to regard all bodies equally. After one has inherited this healthy attitude about beauty of form, they can then grow to value “beauty of the mind” over body which will inspire that individual to “begin observing the beauty in practices and laws” as well. Soon they will come to understand that “every type of beauty is closely related” which will create a sense of freedom within the soul that will guide that individual toward other forms of knowledge which will become beautiful experiences too. These attitudes are important for political environments/debate because not only does the success of a political debate depend on a certain level of mutual respect being maintained by each debater while greatly impacting the levels of motivation generated from such debates but there is almost nothing less motivating than an unhealthy attitude about either beauty or love, which arguably, motivates most political debates (very indirectly, of course because sexual desire is and always will be the driving force of nature and nature is always closely related to all political issues and decision making).

So, if we believe in Socrates thoughts about love and accept that “[hostile] and violent” love could potentially cause inadvertent damage and destruction great enough to produce environmental conditions that breed abnormal diseases (such as COVID-19), would it not be in our best interest to inspire safer political spaces that foster the healthier kind of love, that is “marked by self-control and justice, at the human and divine level”? Although there are many diverse, influencing obstacles and forms of media that can repress the growth and development of these healthy attitudes about love and beauty (particularly for the more vulnerable and/or impressionable humans), I believe that it is still in the best interest of society to at least try and create more opportunities/spaces for others to inherit this type of perspective about love, particularly if we, ourselves, are fortunate enough to have and/or be experiencing life from this perspective. Because if we do not, we may also be indirectly preventing some humans from experiencing this uniquely powerful form of love, called ‘romantic love’, and the beautiful energy that is created from this uncontrollable and natural soul connection.

By: Heather Sakaki

Date: Feb 27, 2021