Martha Nussbaum Love's Knowledge

Martha Nussbaum, the author of the work, “Love’s Knowledge,” gives various accounts of what it means to love. According to Nussbaum, the first perception of the knowledge of love is the Intellectualist, or the scientific view. This Intellectualist view, which is explained by Nussbaum, says that when trying to learn or gain knowledge, “the passions are never necessary to the grasp of the truth, and are usually pernicious” (Nussbaum 263). Nussbaum is saying that in order for a person to truly comprehend knowledge, one must remove all types of emotions from themselves as these feelings are seen as not necessary and even a corruption of knowledge. She is critical of the scientific view because it asks that the individual remove all emotion when obtaining the knowledge of love, which its self a deep human emotion filled with passion and desire. She questions how a …show more content…
This theory states that in order for someone to realize and understand the knowledge of love, one must undergo a single event that provides a reality check or ‘blow,’ which causes suffering. A single event, like a sudden breakup or even a death, makes the person switch to another reality where they have a totally different perspective in life. The idea is that through suffering, one can find the means to obtain the knowledge of love. This suffering, explained by Nussbaum is described as “a ‘physical blow…to the heart’; ‘like… a thunderbolt’” (Nussbaum 266). Her problem with this ideology is the fact the only way to truly unlock the knowledge of love is through a single moment which causes immense suffering in isolation. Nussbaum argues that we can use other emotions like joy, concern, and happiness to unlock this same forgotten reality over a longer period of time. She thinks that the event that opens a person’s eyes to the knowledge of love does not have to be an instantaneous