Modern love attaches to unanalyzable individuality rather than to any specific attribute

Evidence

In the Platonic interpretation love gets attached to a nameable property of its object, to beauty, which is conceived as strictly universal, equivalent in all of its manifestations. For us, however, the ultimate mystery of love resides in the fact that there is no single attribute which is responsible for it—as Meister Eckhardt said with respect to God, we should not love him because he possesses these and those attributes, but simply because he just is. However valuable the qualities of a person may be, feelings are attached to the unity and totality which lies behind them. … The deepest mystery of our world view, however, Individuality—this unanalyzable unity, which is not to be derived from anything else, not subsumable under any higher concept, set within a world otherwise infinitely analyzable, calculable, and governed by general laws—this individuality stands for us as the actual focal point of love — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 580

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the modern conception of individuality as an unanalyzable unity that focalizes love — the same individuality that, isolated, underlies the blasé attitude and urban reserve.
• XREF: connects to: Loss of felt uniqueness breeds estrangement in intimate relationships — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 398; Modern love is irreducibly bound to a unique individual, unlike Plato’s — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 575; Reciprocal modern love presupposes each ego having secured a definite boundary — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 583 (+7 more)

Related

• Modern love is irreducibly bound to a unique individual, unlike Plato’s (similarity 0.92)
• Modern individuality values being this specific irreplaceable person, not mere freedom (similarity 0.90)
• Reciprocal modern love presupposes each ego having secured a definite boundary (similarity 0.86)
• Resigned love asks only usefulness and accepts replaceability, yet still brings unhappiness (similarity 0.82)
• Continuing intimacy requires each person to remain partly indistinct (similarity 0.80)
• Perfect devotion of one party requires reciprocal surrender by the other on another level (similarity 0.79)
• Loss of felt uniqueness breeds estrangement in intimate relationships (similarity 0.79)
• Individuality and universal equality historically arise as twin reactions to inequality (similarity 0.78)
• Rising individuality necessarily yields belief in mankind’s ideal unity (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Reciprocal modern love presupposes each ego having secured a definite boundary #complicates (0.70) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 583
• Individuality emerges from the layering and clash of overlapping social types #qualifies (0.55) — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition, 284