An exploration of love, a subject that has occupied philosophers since the time of Plato. Tackling the mood of pessimism about the nature of love that reaches back through Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard, it examines the links between love and grief, love and nature, and between love of others and loving oneself.

1. Introduction 2. Doubts about love 3. Th e depth of love 4. A sense of worth 5. Togetherness and loss 6. Irreplaceability 7. What can we love?