The Paradox of Love: A Historical Exploration of Western Philosophical Perspectives on Love, Exclusion, and Liberatory Potential.

The present work tracks some of the most well-known thinkers on love in the Western philosophical tradition, where various theories emerge, conflict, converge, and fade away. Given that many questions about its nature have persisted for centuries, love's identity appears unsettled. Due to its unresolved identity, love might be best understood as a paradox existing between its resistance to definition and yet commonly recognized and experienced. The other central thread stemming from these philosophers of love is how the history of its theorizing constructed a restrictive notion that commonly excluded women from the experience. Offering a natural rebuttal to the history of exclusion promoted by these prominent thinkers is bell hooks' notion of an expansive and healing love that possessed the capacity to realize more fulfilling relationships and a compassionate society. This paper concludes with thoughts on love's liberatory nature, its capacity to create personal meaning, and its identity as a paradox without attempting to define it.