Platonic love is in my opinion, the most important and vital aspect of love. Without platonic love people are incapable of actually knowing the object of their desire. If no was able to have a platonic love, then the world would full over people how only desired physical pleasure, instead of that "greater good" that Diotima speaks of. This notion would agree with Rusoue theory of "free love." Rusoue believed that there is no such thing as a "greater good" and all love is, is just a need to feel pleasure, instead of a need to be loved. I disagree completely with Rusoue. I refuse to believe that love is driven solely by lust. This idea in my opinion is completely ludicrous.
Love is the most mystifying and complex emotion that we have. What's the difference between Platonic love, and Sexual love? Which love is real? What does it really mean when someone says those three words "I love you?" It's a common misconception that one is separate from the other, when in fact these two concepts go hand in hand. It's not possible for someone to truly be in love with another if they only have a sexually attraction. The only thing a sexual attraction is is a raw physical lust or desire, for a pleasure, that is not attainable by the limited expectations of a platonic love, therefore rendering this notion unworthy of the title, love.
Perhaps there is no such thing as sexual love. Maybe the only real and true love is a plutonic love. But then again how can platonic love be the only true love if the love is restricted by the boundaries that a plutonic love implies. Love is too powerful to be suppressed by social standards. So then again I ask, what is love? Perhaps love could be a means of escaping the emotional isolation that we desperately try to escape. Have you ever noticed how you could be around hundreds of people yet, still feel lonely? We are born into this dark tunnel, ignorant and alone. Sometimes the most popular people are in fact the loneliest of all because they don't have any real companions or better yet, that plutonic love. This love is the light at the end of the tunnel, with this we can see are way out, but we lack the desire, that need to feel alive, the need to feel pleasure, both physically and mentally. Then finally, we can find that person who embodies our desires and passions. Then, and only then, do we find that other soul, that other person in that dark tunnel; your soul mate.
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