Amare est bonum velle alicui

Abstract

Amare est bonum velle alicui

Abstract

To love is to will a good for someone. Yet nobody can be chosen; persons are simply met. It is the good that we give to and choose for the persons we meet. Still, the more genuine our wish is, the more universal the good in question. The will aims at the universal: we desire the good without any restrictions for those we love. Being an intellectual desire, the will must be informed by the intellect. In the maze of life, the intellect distinguishes the outlines of the real good to be given; it liberates. Without it man is abandoned. The true rhythm of our life consists in distinguishing by means of the intellect and putting up by means of the will. The strong and pure will edifies. For the sake of the really human in us, the intellect and will must dominate over the imagination and emotions.

Keywords: love, liberty, abstraction, nature, ethics.