args

Loving is an art

Rebuttal Contention 1: The Justification of Love: If there are different stages that must happen for mature love to take place as you say, then how does this require skill and practice? The roadmap is already laid out, all there is to do is follow it. It is a prescribed sequence of events. Motherly love is not necessarily a form of love that is simply given. If so, then why would there be mothers who harm their children? If it is a given that you love them, then your definition of mature love would also state that you would need them. Falling in Love- You've already stated that the art of it comes in later, so there isn't much for me to refute here. Maintaining Love Through a Difficulty- Reconciling problems in a relationship is not required for love to be an art; if it were, then what about people who do not view their differences as problems? They need each other because they love each other, not because "He doesn't cheat on me" or "She always cleans her room". In this case, it is immature love. The mature love is present, the maintenance of the relationship is the If so, then why would there be mothers who harm their children? If it is a given that you love them, then your definition of mature love would also state that you would need them. Falling in Love- You've already stated that the art of it comes in later, so there isn't much for me to refute here. Maintaining Love Through a Difficulty- Reconciling problems in a relationship is not required for love to be an art; if it were, then what about people who do not view their differences as problems? They need each other because they love each other, not because "He doesn't cheat on me" or "She always cleans her room". In this case, it is immature love. The mature love is present, the maintenance of the relationship is the art. Contention 2: "if all prongs are met for mature love to take place, but the love is only directed towards one person; it is not truly love, but a symbiotic attachment" A symbiotic attachment would require the person you love to love you back, which is not necessarily the case, meaning love of only one person is not necessarily of a symbiotic nature. It is still the same love, only on a more limited scale. While it may be "a fairly hefty deed", that alone does not make it impossible, only improbable and difficult. If one practices and develops enough skill to love people, then it could be possible for them to love any person they encounter. Arguments Contention 1: Mothers- Mothers love their children, but they do not need them. They can put them up for adoption, if they choose. Yet they don't because they love them without first needing them, making their love mature love. If a mothers love is simply given (as you said in your segment about falling in love), then they do not have to work at it, making it not an art. Contention 2: In the case of a person who loved their husband/wife, but still ended the relationship in a divorce, the love can meet the definition of mature love without meeting the definition of an art. Let's say there is a man who loved his wife very much, and he did not love her because he needed her, he needed her because he loved her. He loved many other people, so his love could not be considered a symbiotic attachment. His wife decided she no longer loved him back and she wanted a divorce. He tried to maintain the relationship because he loved her, but it didn't work. Although his mature love for her is still present, it is no longer a skill he practices, and so no longer an art.