New Discoveries of Love

Name: New Discoveries of Love
ISBN: 9787532763429

威廉·施密德Shanghai Translation Publishing House · ChinaAug 2016

Rating 3.9

Word count: 155K words
Chapters: 31
ISBN: 9787532763429

Summary

Love: A New Understanding can well be called a classic work of philosophical prose, offering reflections on love from multiple angles. The various questions about love that Love: A New Understanding addresses have long troubled people: where does love find a home in the intellectual sky of a society shifting between cultures? What role is it assigned? When love fails, or when life seems meaningless and despair sets in, how does it acquire meaning? Starting from a distinctive German style of speculative thought, the author guides readers to seek answers in myth, drama, poetry, film, and other forms.

Editor's review

Love: A New Understanding is not a practical manual offering relationship techniques, but a profound and restrained philosophical reflection on the complex phenomenon of "love" by the contemporary German philosopher Wilhelm Schmid. Amid today's emotional discourse, saturated with quick-fix guides and reductive pronouncements, this book stands out as a breath of fresh air: it guides us beyond the single dimension of romantic love (Eros) to examine the place and value of friendship (Philia), universal love (Agape), and self-love (Eigenliebe) in a complete life. With clear, calm prose, Schmid dissects the predicaments of love in modern society—the loneliness brought by individualization, the illusory pursuit of eternal passion, and the tendency to narrow love into consumption and experience. His core proposition is that love is not a passively descending "feeling" or "state," but a "practice" and "capacity" that requires continuous learning, exercise, and cultivation. The value of this book lies in that it offers no cheap comfort or definitive answers, but through philosophical inquiry broadens the boundaries of our understanding of love and helps us build more resilient and richly layered emotional lives. For readers who feel confused, exhausted, or yearning for deep connection in intimate relationships, this is a map of thought that can resonate for a long time.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers confused by modern intimate relationships who seek depth of thought beyond chicken-soup comfort
Enthusiasts of philosophy or the humanities and social sciences who enjoy exploring emotional issues through rational speculation
Partners in long-term stable relationships who wish to inject new understanding and vitality into their emotional bond
Individuals focused on their own spiritual growth who wish to explore in depth the balance between "self-love" and "love of others"

Not a good fit for

Pragmatists expecting concrete dating techniques or quick relationship strategies
Readers resistant to abstract speculation who prefer plot-driven or highly personal narratives

Reading tips

Reading slowly and reflectively is recommended; take notes as you read and compare and question in light of your own experience
Combine the book's discussion of friendship and universal love with reflections on broader emotional ties to family, friends, and even society
After reading, try discussing the book's core ideas with a partner or trusted friend, putting into practice the concept of "conversations about love"

About the publisher

Shanghai Translation Publishing House China · Founded in 1978

Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.

版权信息
——前言——
论爱情和其他关系
·熟知渴望才知渴望的意义
·倘若爱情发生：体验和描述
·爱情是什么：激情及其定义
·爱情与其他关系：自由与关系间的紧张
·走出自我，赋予生活以意义：关系中的美好人生
·生活格局：关系网与纠葛
·两极化的生活：关系中的生活逻辑
·恒定与改变：论关系的静态与动态
·信任与猜疑：关系中谨慎的意义
·烦恼了怎么办？日常生活中的情感对立
·男女两极对立性：女人是更优秀的生活艺术家吗？
·做男人的艺术：男人须重新打造吗？
论相爱者的爱情
·独处还是共处？对完满生活的探询
·爱情是场游戏吗？论追求与诱惑的爱情艺术
·爱情美与恋人美：肯定与被肯定
·馈赠的艺术：爱情中的施与受
·爱情的矛盾：可靠与焦虑，忠诚与背叛
·何谓爱情幸福？
·性与性爱：爱的身体技巧
·情感与抚慰：爱的心灵艺术
·对话与阐释：爱的精神艺术
·神的体验：爱的超验艺术
·实用的罗曼蒂克：日常生活中爱的艺术
·爱情为何如此困难：权力问题
·存在被爱的权力吗？两人间的权力与公正
·爱情了结时怎么办？
威廉·施密德作品年表

FAQ

Is this book a work of philosophy or psychology?

It is essentially a philosophical essay that draws on phenomenological and existentialist thought to analyze "love." Although it involves psychological observation, its core method is philosophical reflection rather than clinical psychological analysis.

Are the book's views too idealistic or detached from reality?

Schmid's discussion is rooted in deep insight into modern life (such as individualization and consumerism). He acknowledges the difficulties and fragility of love, and his "practice" orientation is precisely aimed at finding the possibility of love in complex reality rather than constructing a utopia.

Can readers without a philosophy background understand it?

Yes. Schmid's style is clear and plain, avoiding obscure terminology and skilled at introducing philosophical thought through everyday experience. No professional background is needed, but readers need to maintain a certain willingness to focus and reflect.

Related on WeRead

爱的新发现威廉·施密德镖人（卷八）许先哲 1984年生吉林延边人。先前从事广告行业兼任文学翻译。虽然未曾接受过美术绘画训练但因为热爱漫画花费四年时间构思并投入一切去准备自己的出道作——《镖人》。作者有话说：“我觉得自己能把握住的题材一定是出自我自身的文化背景来自我从小熟悉和喜爱的文化符号。因此中国文化中无比吸引我的‘侠客’题材就成了《镖人》的出发点。中国拥有悠久的历史和深厚的文化只要你用心去挖掘就可以发现很多精彩的人物和事件。这些可能连我们自己都并不熟悉但非常新鲜和有趣是创作者取之不尽的宝库。” 爱从未离开你(87篇发现美丽的清新故事) 马克汉森/杰克坎菲尔

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About the author

威廉·施密德 Author

William Schmid is an author about whom limited public information is available; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and original English name have not been clearly recorded. Judging from the two works held in the collection, The New Discovery of Love and Happiness, his writing revolves around themes such as emotion, happiness, and the meaning of life, and is commonly categorized as philosophical reading and inspirational growth. Works of this kind often take everyday experience as their starting point and use philosophical reflection to respond to the spiritual confusion of modern people; the language is plain yet reflective, making it suitable for general readers who wish to understand life's problems from a philosophical perspective. Because verifiable biographical information is very limited, it is difficult at present to say more about his academic background or writing career, and readers may instead gain a direct sense of his way of thinking and style of expression through these two works.