The three stages of philosophical therapy

An excellent answer to the perennial question: “what is philosophy good for?”

Temple at Segesta, western Sicily. Image from Wikimedia.

Philosophy, you very likely know, means “love of wisdom,” from philo, meaning loving, and Sophia, knowledge or wisdom. Of course things get immediately more complicated once we realize that the ancient Greeks had at least four words that could be translated with the English “love”:

Agápē, which means love that comes with an aspect of charity, in the sense of benevolence. This is the sort of love we have for our children, but also for our spouse or partner. Early Christians adopted the term to mean the unconditional love that God has for his children. As Thomas Aquinas put it, agápē means “to will the good of another” (in Summa Theologiae I-II, 26, 4).

Érōs, which in part means, as the modern word “erotic” indicates, sexual attraction for someone. However, Plato expanded the concept to indicate, after maturation and contemplation, love for beauty itself. This is the origin of the phrase “Platonic love,” which does not mean love without sex, necessarily, but rather love of the ideal Form of Beauty itself. This may begin with erotic attraction, but eventually transcends it, as Socrates explains in the Symposium.

Philía, which describes a sense of affection and regard among equals. Aristotle uses this word to characterize love between friends, for family members, or of community. It is a virtuous type of love, often cast as of a brotherly sort, but with a component of enjoyment.

Storgē, more rarely used in ancient texts, meaning affection, especially (but not only) of the kind one has toward parents and children, including a component of empathy of the type felt naturally toward one’s children. Storgē was also used to indicate love for a country, or even a sports team, and—interestingly—in situations when one has to put up with unpleasant things, as in the oxymoronic phrase “love for a tyrant.”