In the Name of Love Romantic Ideology and Its Victims

by Ben-Ze'ev, Aaron; Goussinsky, Ruhama

• ISBN13: 9780198566496
• ISBN10: 0198566492
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-05-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

We yearn to experience the idealized love in so many novels, movies, poems, and popular songs. Ironically, it is the idealization of love that arms it with its destructive power. Popular media consistently remind us that love is all we need, but statistics concerning the rate of depression and suicides after divorce or romantic break up remind us what might happen if "all that we need" is taken away. This book is about our ideals of love, our experiences of love, the actual disparity between the two, and the manners of coping with this disparity.L A major study case of the book concerns men who have murdered their wives or partners allegedly "out of love." It is estimated that over 30% of all female murder victims in the United States die at the hands of former or present spouses or boyfriends. How can murdering a loved one be associated with the assumed moral and altruistic love? Not only is love intrinsically ambivalent, but it can also give rise to dangerous consequences. Some of the worst evils have been committed in the name of love.L A unique collaboration between a leading philosopher in the field of emotions and a social scientist, In the Name of Love presents fascinating insights into romantic love and it's future in modern society.

Author Biography

Professor Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, the President of the University of Haifa, is Professor of Philosophy. He earned his doctorate at the University of Chicago (1981). He has served as Rector, Dean of Research, Chairperson of the Department of Philosophy, Head of the Haifa University Press, and Head of the Academic Channel. His research focuses upon the philosophy of psychology and especially the study of emotions. He is considered one of the world's leading experts in the study of emotions. He has written many books and articles on these topics including: The Perceptual System (Peter Lang, 1993).The Subtlety of Emotions (MIT Press, 2000), and Love Online: Emotions on the Internet (Cambridge University Press, 2003). Ruhama Goussinsky, Ph.D, is a lecturer in the Human Service Department in Emek Ysreel College and Haifa University in Israel. She wrote her doctorate on men who murdered their female partners and has participated in the National Survey on Violence Against Women in Israel.

Table of Contents

Introduction: 'I want to know what love is'
Romantic Ideology - 'If you love someone'	p. 1
Love at breaking point - 'What have I got to do to make you love me?'	p. 39
The ambivalent nature of romantic love - 'What is this thing called love?'	p. 61
Understanding wife killing - 'See you at the bitter end'	p. 101
Boundaries of the possible - 'Never give up on a good thing'	p. 121
Structural difficulties in romantic love - 'Hard times for lovers'	p. 157
Novel romantic reality - 'You've got to take the bitter with the sweet'	p. 191
The nurturing approach to love - 'We walk in the dream, but dream no more'	p. 217
Endnotes	p. 249
References	p. 261
Index	p. 273
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