

Noam Chomksy shares his thoughts on the meaning of love - ca98am79
http://www.thisisbrandx.com/2010/03/big-think-noam-chomksy-on-love.html

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maxharris
Here is a different view of love:

"To love is to value. Only a rationally selfish man, a man of self-esteem, is
capable of love — because he is the only man capable of holding firm,
consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed values. The man who does not value
himself, cannot value anything or anyone."

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"One gains a profoundly personal, selfish joy from the mere existence of the
person one loves. It is one’s own personal, selfish happiness that one seeks,
earns and derives from love.

A “selfless,” “disinterested” love is a contradiction in terms: it means that
one is indifferent to that which one values.

Concern for the welfare of those one loves is a rational part of one’s selfish
interests. If a man who is passionately in love with his wife spends a fortune
to cure her of a dangerous illness, it would be absurd to claim that he does
it as a “sacrifice” for her sake, not his own, and that it makes no difference
to him, personally and selfishly, whether she lives or dies."

"[Selfless love] would have to mean that you derive no personal pleasure or
happiness from the company and the existence of the person you love, and that
you are motivated only by self-sacrificial pity for that person’s need of you.
I don’t have to point out to you that no one would be flattered by, nor would
accept, a concept of that kind. Love is not self-sacrifice, but the most
profound assertion of your own needs and values. It is for your own happiness
that you need the person you love, and that is the greatest compliment, the
greatest tribute you can pay to that person."

I'll leave it to you to google around if you want to figure out who I'm
quoting (assuming you can't tell already).

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dschobel
the actual source: <http://bigthink.com/noamchomsky> (with more of his videos)

