Of Love: A Philosophy for the 21st Century

Written as a philosophical dialogue between Luc Ferry and his colleague Claude Capelier, *Of Love - A Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century* deals with the historical and ethical foundations of contemporary Western society. Economic, educational, cultural, behavioral, generational, and other aspects are addressed. The title is borrowed from the writer Stendhal, but the love he refers to is "agape," charity for others, including enemies. Ferry associates this with the attention people devote to family, based no longer on arranged marriages but on marriages for love, to children and their descendants. The bow and arrow of the god Eros no longer aim solely at the hearts of lovers, reciprocal or not, but also at the family, augmented by humanity. According to the author, this thought stems from ecological concern and care, humanitarian charity, and the diplomacy of peace in a far less selfish society. As in many of his previous books, Luc Ferry writes carefully, attempting to lead even his most humble reader on a voluntary journey of pedagogical enlightenment. The conceptual richness is undeniable, and countless ideas are striking, such as the satire of pessimism, or "the intolerable, the point where the far left, by dint of sacralizing the right to difference, joins the most detestable far right that rejects all freedom." In On Love, Luc Ferry speaks of the silent rise of love as a central value in modern societies, a rise that creates a principle of meaning and a complete redefinition of the expression "leading a good life."