St Augustine Object Of Love Analysis

According to Saint Augustine, man inevitably loves because he is limited. Within man, there is a need which only love can fill. And this love cannot be found within oneself, which is why it is necessary for us to go beyond ourselves when we love. The act of love entails fastening one’s affections to an object of love, which are usually objects, other persons, oneself, or God. While all objects may become legitimate objects of love, we must recognise that each object of our love can only provide us with so much happiness and satisfaction. Saint Augustine further argues that love becomes disordered when one expects more from the object of love than what it is capable of giving. Our love becomes disordered when the manner with which we attach ourselves to the object of our love and our expectations from this loving act exceed what the object of our love can actually provide us. He also cautions that disordered love leads to many, if not all, forms of human pathology. This tendency towards disordered love is common for fans, or people whose objects of love are celebrities, public figures, or people who are generally inaccessible to them.

At first, my reaction was mostly due to heartbreak in the face of “lost love”. While I know that sounds ridiculous and slightly delusional, but it is the truth. I felt like I had “lost” Benedict Cumberbatch, even though I never really had him in the first place. But after some reflection and after undergoing a great deal of both physical and emotional pain, I had come to realise why I had reacted in such a way. I realised that I was I was also mourning for myself and not because I had “lost” Benedict Cumberbatch. More than anything, this event put into light everything I want and do not have. While it is true that I wanted him, I also wanted what he had. I wanted the happiness and love that he undoubtedly has with his fiancée. Faced with the possibility of not having that and the thought of never having such things, I quite literally