Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
A biological trick? A timeless pursuit? A source of great anguish? The highest possible happiness? Romantic love is perhaps all of these things and more – which is, perhaps, why philosophers have such a seemingly endless affinity for mulling over the subject. This short TED-Ed video scripted by Skye Cleary, a philosophy lecturer at Columbia University and Barnard College in New York and a frequent Aeon contributor, traverses the centuries to investigate how famed philosophers have envisioned romantic love. So is it a way of satisfying Earthly human desires that interrupt the path to enlightenment, as Buddha believed? A devious way for nature to trick us into procreating, as suggested by Arthur Schopenhauer? Or a way to infuse our lives with meaning, as Simone de Beauvoir wrote? The answer might just depend on your current relationship status.
video
Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
video
Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes
video
Metaphysics
Simple entities in universal harmony – Leibniz’s evocative perspective on reality
4 minutes
video
Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
video
Biography and memoir
The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands
29 minutes
video
Cognition and intelligence
What’s this buzz about bees having culture? Inside a groundbreaking experiment
8 minutes
video
Earth science and climate
The only man permitted in Bhutan’s sacred mountains chronicles humanity’s impact
22 minutes
video
The ancient world
An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub
2 minutes
video
Ethics
For Iris Murdoch, selfishness is a fault that can be solved by reframing the world
6 minutes