Love’s simplicity unfolds into a multiplicity. There is a long-standing discussion about different types of love. If divine love (agape) has the primacy that we have suggested, then we could say that divine love can be expressed in friendship (philia) and in a romantic bond (eros). In …
A character dominated by love
Love can pervade our character so fully as to motivate the exercise of all the virtues implied in the previous discussed segments of this philosophy. As we grow we become more like God, who enables us to participate in his goodness. This truth the Sufis celebrate: when someone loves God, “God …
Wholeheartedness in pursuing growth with peaceful trust in the pace of growth
Truly great people have appropriate expectations for the rest of us. Darwin did not expect every amateur who assisted his inquiry to dedicate his or her life to science. Socrates did not expect every conversation partner to drop his occupation and become a full-time philosopher. Jesus did not expect …
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Pitirim Sorokin and strong character
The writings of Russian revolutionary and Harvard sociologist Pitirim Sorokin (1889-1968) show him as a great theorist of love who realized the intimate connection between love and truth, beauty, and goodness. Sorokin’s life displays all the components emphasized in this philosophy, …
Strong and well-balanced character: A goal we all can reach
Abraham Lincoln 1864 There is much to say for the idea that we become good by doing good. As the proverb goes, “Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.” Another truth goes deeper. We truly do good on the basis of being good. And our quest for …
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Social ethics: affirmations, problems, and solutions
Mohandas Gandhi To many people there are some obvious ethical truths: society should support family life as well as individual self-realization; economic life should include the service motive as well as the profit motive; political life should pursue the good of the planet as well as the interests …
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