Existential Love for the 21st Century

Skye Cleary

Romantic loving can be perplexing because dreams of oneness and unity all too often turn out to be illusions, love feels like it will last forever but there are no guarantees that it will last the night, and lovers hope for harmony but quarrels are inevitable.  Existential philosophies provide narratives to interrogate popular romantic fictions and problematic assumptions about romantic loving behaviors and expectations. Although existential philosophers were highly critical of intimate relationships, ultimately they loved loving, and sought to reinvigorate romance in authentically meaningful ways.  In this talk, we will look at the problems of – and possibilities for – modern love through an existential lens.