Love, loss and truth

Abstract

Love is a particularly relevant topic in Platonic philosophy, Christianity and psychoanalysis. In this text, I develop an argument that articulates some central motifs of these perspectives on love, in order to pose the question of its truth. The discussion begins with Augustine of Hippo's reflections on the death of his beloved friend, in Book IV of the Confessions, where he concludes that the love of God is superior to the love of the creature. This perspective will be contrasted with Slavoj Žižek's argument in which he establishes that the excessive fixation to a particular and mortal object is the inaugural act of the human condition, as well as its redemption. Finally, after delving through the Freudian analysis into the causes of the state of melancholy caused by the loss of the loved one, we will raise the question of true love from a platonic perspective, based on the argumentation that Alain Badiou elaborates on the matter, which will allow us conclude on the truth of the loving encounter, without resorting to a theology that imposes loving God above all.