Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the practical-epistemic dimension of the theme, tracing a route from the practice of grace, piety, justice, and science to knowledge of God and His love. It explores how an Augustinian anxiety about sex develops in Immanuel Kant’s arguments that the purpose of the institution of marriage is to secure the religious or moral permissibility of sexual intimacy. The book presents findings in empirical psychology connecting the origins of romantic and passionate love with arousing or unusual environments. It demonstrates that feelings of sexual attraction and dispositions toward sexual intimacy are central elements of several recent psychological theories of love. The book argues that “an understanding of the infant–primary caregiver attachment reveals philosophically underappreciated respects in which love improves us and contributes to our identities via the role of felt security”.