Love as a Metavalue: 'Mature Love'

       Unconditional love as a value which lies beyond the realm of sense and subjectivity... a 'meta value'...  an aspect of the mature mind... unconditional love as 'mature love' ... Within the context of maturity, love is the power by which the individual relates to the world through fellow human beings and  at the same time transcends the separateness of individual existence thus retaining  integrity or 'sanity' by uniting with others and becoming part of  something bigger.  Mature love'  is an emotion based on the biological instinct for human solidarity...  an emotion which results from the natural mutual interdependence of all human beings.  Mature love as human solidarity communicates security as  necessary condition for continued interest in the environment and the unfolding of human powers and  human potential (humanisation) in a process of normal psychological growth and development.  Optimal psychological growth and the proper development of human character,  personality, rational thought, confidence, courage and morality of rational conscience depends on the fulfillment of the instinctive biological need (metaneed) for mature love. Mature love of security is relationship with the other's wholeness as a human  being ... their  core of intrinsic human values or 'human core',  their 'humanness',  'humanity',  'humanhood'.  Mature love is granting the  full right to the natural unfolding of human powers ...  granting the right to cultivate one's  own humanity.  Mature love as the  affirmation of another's humanity is  'productive love' which is inseparable from 'labour' meaning 'to cultivate',  to foster growth,  to 'make something grow',  to care for ,  to feel responsible for  in the sense of 'ready to respond'. Mature love is 'responsible love' because it is inseparable from 'care' which implies a profound sense of 'responsibility'  as 'readiness to respond'. To love responsibly means to feel responsible for another's psychological growth and human development. Mature love is based on understanding or 'reason' and in this sense it  does not make any demands  nor depend on any conditions.  With no conditions attached, mature love  is  'unconditional love' and to love unconditionally is to express one's power to lov e ...  to actualise,  to concentrate this power on one person and to relate to their  human core as representing humankind. As the productive form of love, mature love is a force which can create the capacity for good will toward others. In facilitating growth and the cultivation of humanity mature love is a transforming experience which promotes mutual understanding.  Mature love  is  'universal love' because it implies love for all humanity. Mature love combines care with respect and  knowledge and so is genuine ,  wise and unselfish... in contrast to the irresponsible love of  overprotectiveness, possessiveness  and sentimentality.  Mature love is 'spiritual love' or 'agape' because it is required for complete spiritual development...  development of moral consciousness or morality of the rational 'conscience' or 'human spirit'.   Mature love is an act of courage, freedom, humility, requiring an intense faith in the individual's instinctive vocation to become more fully human... faith in the 'human personality' or 'human nature'. Manifestation of mature  love depends on knowledge which is shared through dialogue or 'dialogical knowledge'.  Hence the necessity for participatory education or 'holistic education'.                

  Self-transcendence and the wisdom of compassion. 

      Love is the capacity to transcend oneself and relate to one's fellow human beings by connecting to their human core. Within this context of maturity, love is the emotion of human solidarity, acknowledgement of the 'goodness' of a person's humanity, recognition of a person's wholeness is known as 'universal love',  'productive love', 'spiritual love',  'agape' (Greek) and  also defined as mature responsible love with no conditions attached or 'unconditional love'. Within the context of maturity, love as 'mature love'  is an emotion based on the biological instinct for human solidarity which results from the natural mutual interdependence of human beings and which communicates security necessary for normal human growth and interest in the environment. This mature love as human solidarity is a necessary condition for the unfolding of the individual's human powers. Mature love is cultivation of the other's wholeness, their 'humanness', humanhood' or 'humanity'.  Mature love as the  affirmation of another's humanity is the productive form of love ... a productive force because it is a transforming experience and creates the capacity for good will toward others.  Good will promotes growth and mutual understanding. Mature love is love with respect and  knowledge and so it is wise and unselfish love,  genuine love. Mature love is  universal love because it implies love for all  of humankind.  Mature love is responsible love because it is inseparable from understanding or 'reason' and cultivation or 'labour' meaning 'to cultivate',  to foster growth,  to 'make something grow', to care for,  to feel responsible for  in the sense of 'ready to respond' to another's psychological growth and human development. Love in this sense does not make any demands nor depend on any conditions; no conditions are attached.  In contrast to selfish immature love, mature love is 'unconditional love'.    To love unconditionally is to to express the power to love... to relate to a person's human core ... to relate to the person... concentrate this power on one person as representing humankind. "To love a person productively means to relate to his human core, to him as representing mankind." (Fromm Man for Himself 101)..
     The need for unconditonal love is a biological need. Unconditional love is required for optimal psychological growth and development of intrinsic spirituality... the spiritual too for living...  which is moral consciousness (intrinsic spirituality) or 'conscience'.  Development of the human conscience is a function of the integrated development of personality and character in the context of inner freedom. Deprivation of unconditional love results in emotional immaturity and psychological ill health of neurotic growth  or 'neurosis'. The result is fear and hatred of dysfunctional and  irrational conscience which becomes the source of human wickedness or 'evil'.  We can fight evil with education for human empowerment  ... education based on the biological need for human solidarity which communicates security necessary for complete human development i.e. love without conditions or  'unconditional love'.  Survival of the human species depends on mature unconditional love because this is the  condition required for development of the 'human spirit'  as a tool for living i.e. the rational conscience. Education for development of conscience is based on  the instinctive biological need for unconditional love ... mature love as affirmation of the person's wholeness... their humanity... their productive character orientation which is the basis for freedom, for virtue and for happiness...  hence the need for 'holistic education'.