5971 The Philosophy of LOVE!

Freedomain with Stefan Molyneux

Stefan Molyneux

Politics, Democrat, Atheism, Joe-rogan, News & Politics, Objectivism, Freedom, Anarchy, Atheist, Philosophy, Conservative, Freedomainradio, Liberal, Republican, Pacifism, Objectivist, Libertarian

4.7 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In answering this series of questions from Facebook, Stefan explores the philosophical examination of love, emphasizing its connection to recognizing virtue in romantic partners. He shares personal anecdotes from his marriage, illustrating how mutual admiration for each other's virtues strengthens their relationship. Stef argues that enduring love stems from a deep appreciation of moral character, as opposed to transient physical attraction, and discusses the role of romantic love in pair bonding and transferring moral values to future generations. He distinguishes between love as a voluntary act versus an involuntary response to virtue, cautioning against manipulative expectations in relationships. Ultimately, Molyneux advocates for love grounded in virtue, suggesting it leads to deeper and more fulfilling connections.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	All right, good morning, everybody.
0:01.8	Siffam Molineau from Freedom, Maine,
0:03.2	and great questions.
0:04.7	This is from Facebook.
0:06.0	I will get straight into them.
0:08.1	I did ask people for their philosophy questions,
0:11.5	and you all provided in a magnificent fashion.
0:14.5	Thank you very much.
0:15.7	Matt asks me,
0:18.1	how did you come to the conclusion that love is based upon
0:20.7	finding virtue in your partner?
0:23.9	Well, there is, usually in the best formulations, there is both theoretical, proof, and empirical
0:34.0	experience. So my wife, I've now been married for, well, we've been together
0:39.7	23 years, married for 22 years. My wife is a wonderfully virtuous and courageous and
0:47.1	steadfast and wonderful companion in this sort of life journey. And I found that I just responded so positively to strength and
0:59.6	death and insights and wisdom and virtues and all of that. And so I had the empirical experience
1:06.6	of responding to my wife and her virtues for many years before I became a sort of public philosopher.
1:16.4	So I had that experience, good nature, her good humor.
1:19.8	Honestly, I could do hours praising her, but I think you get the general idea.
1:25.2	And her virtues inspired my virtues, my virtues inspired her virtues.
1:30.2	So I had that experience for years before I became a public philosopher. So having had that
1:38.4	experience gave me sort of the empirical grounding for the theory as a whole.
	...

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