ABSTRACT
The ancient Greeks distinguished different types of relationship between the one who loves and the one who is loved, and these differences make for diverse kinds of love. The love of Beauty in itself springs from a recollection of a previous life in which the soul apprehended other Forms, such as those of Justice, Wisdom and Knowledge. The love of bodily beauty, then, is the first stage of a spiritual ascent, and eros inspires pursuit of what is truly real, especially by philosophers, poets and lovers. Scruton, in many writings argues that marriage is a social institution of the first importance and that it entails a vow, not a contract. Scruton’s view of sexual goods and evils is largely neo-Aristotelian. There is great social and individual value in upholding erotic commitment as an important ingredient of society, preferably, although not essentially, reinforced by public vows and rituals.
