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Love's Bond - Robert Nozick

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Love's Bond - Robert Nozick
Love’s Bond – Robert Nozick

In this writing assignment I will be giving a detailed interpretation on Robert Nozick’s writing, “Love’s Bond”. First I will give an explanation on Nozick’s account of the nature of love. Secondly, I will explain why Robert Nozick believes that in love there is no desire to trade up to another partner. Lastly, I will also explain why he says that it is incoherent to ask what the value of love is to an individual person.
The nature of love according to Nozick is the desire to form a “we” with the person you feel romantic love for, the desire to become one with the loved one. When two individuals are mutually in romantic love with one another, they both desire to form a “we” with each other. Once two romantic partners form a “we” they subconsciously agree to make life decisions together because now they are one and what affects one affects the other equally. Any type of life event good or bad that affects one person affects the other person equally because once they form a “we” they are like one. Nozick explains that when two individuals form a “we” they share a new identity. According to Nozick this new formation completely takes over of the individuals and they become something new, something transformed in a way. This desire to form a “we” with another is something magnificent and great. He explains that, “the desire to share not only our life but our identity with another marks our fullest openness. To Nozick, forming a “we” is a really big deal. Forming a “we” is a complete transformation of what a person used to be when they were and individual.
According to Nozick, when a person is in love, they do not have desires to trade up to a different partner. Nozick says, “In the view of a person who loves someone romantically, there couldn’t be anyone else who was better as a partner.” This quote gives support to his idea that a person in love would not desire to trade up. The person in love does not believe in their heart that


Cited: 1.  Nozick, Robert. "Love 's Bond." Philosophical Perspectives on Sex & Love. New York: Oxford UP, 1995. 231-39. Print.
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