“Love is by no means understanding.”
- January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970
- Born in Japan
- Novelist, playwright, critic, political activist
Japanese
「愛は断じて理解ではない」
English
“Love is by no means understanding.”
Explanation
In this succinct statement, Mishima rejects the idea that love can be reduced to mere understanding. He asserts that love transcends rational comprehension or intellectual analysis. For Mishima, love is not something that can be fully grasped or explained through reason or logic. It is, instead, a deeply emotional, visceral experience that defies explanation. By emphasizing that love is not understanding, he suggests that love exists in a realm beyond cognitive control—it is something that must be felt and experienced, not dissected or rationalized.
This view aligns with Mishima’s broader exploration of the irrational aspects of human emotion. Throughout his works, he often focused on the limits of intellect and the mysterious power of passion, where love is depicted as a force that resides outside the boundaries of logic and reason. Mishima’s works consistently challenge the rationalist worldview, instead positing that the most profound aspects of human experience, like love, are not meant to be understood but embraced in their mystery. This notion of love suggests that emotional truth cannot be captured by intellectual frameworks and that the experience of love is something that surpasses our ability to comprehend it fully.
In modern relationships, this quote invites reflection on how love is often overanalyzed or intellectualized, particularly in a world where people seek logical explanations for emotional experiences. The quote challenges contemporary views that understanding or rationalizing emotions, especially love, can lead to true fulfillment. In reality, love often requires surrendering to its irrational nature and accepting that it cannot always be explained or controlled. This perspective remains relevant in today’s world, where people often look for rational certainty in relationships but find, instead, that love flourishes when it is allowed to be a mysterious and unquantifiable force.
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