The English Language sucks
I mean there is but one word for love. I know many of you have heard this before (especially those of you who have read C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves) but the Greek language has four words for love. These are agape, storge, philia, and eros. Now agape is the humbling love where the greater stoops to the lower, the best example of this is God's love for humanity. Storge is the familial and familiar love, thus the love that a child bears to its mother, a brother to his sister, a person for their country etc. Philia is brotherly love or to more commonly ascribe it, friendship. Eros, finally, is the love between a man and a woman, hence the word erotic.
Its interesting to think about for storge is a very 'soft' emotion, for example I lovemy little sister, she irritates the heck out of me but I could not see myself not loving her. Its not something that is forced or required of me but it is something that comes unthinkingly. However, (as those of you that have seen me and my bro together know) we are a lot tighter than mere storge would account for, I would say that towards my brother I bear a brotherly love or the love of a friend. This also just happened to us, we didn't just think let's become friends but we just fell into that sort of relationship :P. Furthermore, philia is less common to me than storge. There are more people I know that would fall into the category of storge than of philia. A lot of my dearest female friends would fall into the category of sisters with me than of friends. And to the full intensity of philia I would say that I could count on one hand everyone that I love in this way. However, it is interesting how philia can be so easily mistaken for eros. It is amusing when this misapprehension occurs of two guys and embarrassing when it occurs of a guy and gal. Probably because a lot of philia involves compainionship and a level of comfort in one anothers company that is beyond that exhibited to others means that to those outside it bears a lot of the characteristics of eros (especially when both people have the love languages are touch). This is probably especially true of the guy/gal philia since for whatever reason it is probably a lot less common in its fullness than the two guys, which means that when people observe its actions from the outside it appears to be eros.
Anyway those are the thoughts from a coffee addled mind...
Its interesting to think about for storge is a very 'soft' emotion, for example I lovemy little sister, she irritates the heck out of me but I could not see myself not loving her. Its not something that is forced or required of me but it is something that comes unthinkingly. However, (as those of you that have seen me and my bro together know) we are a lot tighter than mere storge would account for, I would say that towards my brother I bear a brotherly love or the love of a friend. This also just happened to us, we didn't just think let's become friends but we just fell into that sort of relationship :P. Furthermore, philia is less common to me than storge. There are more people I know that would fall into the category of storge than of philia. A lot of my dearest female friends would fall into the category of sisters with me than of friends. And to the full intensity of philia I would say that I could count on one hand everyone that I love in this way. However, it is interesting how philia can be so easily mistaken for eros. It is amusing when this misapprehension occurs of two guys and embarrassing when it occurs of a guy and gal. Probably because a lot of philia involves compainionship and a level of comfort in one anothers company that is beyond that exhibited to others means that to those outside it bears a lot of the characteristics of eros (especially when both people have the love languages are touch). This is probably especially true of the guy/gal philia since for whatever reason it is probably a lot less common in its fullness than the two guys, which means that when people observe its actions from the outside it appears to be eros.
Anyway those are the thoughts from a coffee addled mind...
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