The quest to understand the meaning of life is a recurrent theme in many different fields of knowledge because it is an integral part of the human condition. This course will explore the different philosophical and religious schools of thought covering the degrees of love (mainly, eros, philia, and agape) and the universal question, what is the meaning of life? We will read from an array of texts and diverse traditions both in the East and in the West. We will think critically about their unique responses, especially we will take their ideas seriously by reflecting upon the relevance of their teachings to our lives. In this course, we will analyze and evaluate each selected theory on love and the meaning of life using classical and contemporary texts such as Plato's Symposium, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus, Tillich's the Courage to Be, Ortega y Gasset's On Love, M. L. King's Strength to Love, Dorothy Day's The Long Loneliness, Thomas Merton's Love and Living, Simone Weil's Love in the Void, Thich Nhat Hanh's True Love, the XIV Dalai Lama's How to Practice: the Way to a Meaningful Life, Joseph Runzo's Global Philosophy of Religion, and bell hooks' All About Love). In addition to philosophical readings, we will also use the responses from psychologists (Sigmund Freud, Eric Fromm, Carl Jung, Rollo May, and Victor Frankl), writers (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky), poets (Dante, Blake, Lorca, T. S. Eliot, Ernesto Cardenal), artists (Bernini, Dali, Chagall), filmmakers (Benigni, Almodovar), and music composers (Ennio Morricone, Manuel de Falla, John Coltrane's A Love Supreme). In doing so, our interdisciplinary approach will enrich us through reflecting upon this ongoing quest on how to live a meaningful life even if life it is absurd, as existentialist thinkers such Sartre, Camus, and others believe to be the case. The course will be divided into three sections: The Wisdom of the Ages (Is life worth living?), the Discontent of Modern Civilizations (why so much despair and anxiety in a world with no real meaning and value?), and the Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life (the paths of self-discovery, self-actualization, and spiritual growth and transformation). Could it be that love in its most expansive form be the answer to all the deep questions about finding the real meaning in one's life? To love and to be loved. to serve humanity and the world without seeking anything in return. This altruistic view is simple, yet so complicated to put into practice. What can we learn from the wisdom of the great thinkers found in all ages and cultures? As Heidi Cobham concludes in her article, "the pursuit of love is the meaning of life."
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