In Praise Of Love!

Someone encouraged me to start writing about the books that I am reading. I have thought about it before. It always feels nice to read a good book and share the essence of it with someone else in the hope that they would read it and enjoy it just as much as you.

First book I like to present is:

“In Praise Of Love” by Alain Badiou. 

I had high expectations to this book, and been waiting for more than a year for the English translation to be released.

This compelling urge to read it came from an article I read in Purple fashion in February 2011.

I was sitting in a café and had to write down a large passage of the article on a piece of paper simply because what he said spoke to something in me.  

The passage from the article more or less summed up the general thought behind the book, and I have to say that all my expectations were met.

Like Milan Kundera in “The unbearable lightness of being” Badiou talks about chance and how when it come to true love, it is the only thing that really speaks to us. A premeditated encounter can never have the same effect or value as an accidental one, because there always lays a prior thought to it.

In today’s dating culture people are prudent when it comes to finding love. Anyone can find a match on an online dating forum. They are able to find a partner with similar views; goals etc. and they can enter into a relationship almost without risks.  It is two people coming together in the agreement that this is going to work out. Almost like an arrange married, though not concerning the pride of the family but the safety of the individual and its interests. Although it can be one of the most painful experiences for the human, love is to endure despite the obstacles that might be along the way.

Badiou argues that true love in its essence is about exploring love from two points of views despite of differences and coming together.  He compares love to communism because the individual is put aside and the though of what benefits the mass concurs over any narcissistic gain.

This book is based on a conversation between Badiou and Nicolas Truong and is an easy read, even if you are not familiar with philosophical terminology. It is my personal point of view that everyone, whether in or out of a relationship could benefit from reading this book.  Not because it is something revolutionary, but it makes one put past experiences into a new perspective, perhaps resolve present internal battles and even impose the question of whether or not one is generous enough when it comes to loving someone else.