Bell Hooks Salvation Analysis

Social philosopher Erich Fromm formed a definition of love that is simple, yet comprehensive. He broke love into four connected but distinct elements: respect, care, knowledge, and responsibility (hooks 19). These forms can exist on their own, but when authentic and genuine love is practiced, the four must exist together. We must, at the very least, respect others. Often times, when a relationship is established, we go above that basic respect and care for others. Care is practiced when we collect knowledge on how to love each other and take responsibility to practice what we have learned. However, when living this definition, there are issues that make each aspect hard to perfect, especially within the love experience of a black person. This struggle becomes the focus of bell hooks’ book, Salvation. Salvation synthesizes major thinker’s beliefs about love in regards to black people. Martin Luther King Jr, Howard Thurman, and Malcom X have taken up this arduous task of breaking down love – each thinker speaks to the application or obstacles of love’s manifestation in black life, yet each of …show more content…
However, Audrey Lorde provides an especially profound conception of black self-love in her analyzation of the erotic. Her erotic knowledge is not strictly sexual desire, but a more intricate understanding of the body, the mind, and the relationship between the two. The erotic is anything that has enough beauty to arouse us and make us desire. It takes a three-part commitment: willing to see the truth of your own identity, challenging your perception of yourself, and dismantling oppressive power structures with the appropriate framework. Lorde emphasizes developing a complete knowledge of self in order to love, which is valuable knowledge for those learning to self-love