Patterns

Libido Patterns

According to the wisdom of Plato there are four fundamental forms of love, and these forms saw greater explications in C. S. Lewis' The Four Loves. These patterns are Eros, Philia (or Filia), Agape, and Storge. These are the normal and psychotypical manifestations of the patterns that denote a healthy and integrated way of being. The libido patterns correspond to the two higher functions of the psyche, ego (I) and persona (II).

Mortido Patterns

Subject to mortido, the four patterns flip and oppose the creative energy of the libido, resembling neuroses and psychopathologies. These are the unhealthy and disintegrated manifestations of the patterns called Mania, Phobia, Pragma, and Tyranny. The mortido patterns correspond to the two lower functions of the psyche, shadow (III) and anima (IV).

The Patterns

Eros || Mania

Libido

Eros is the love of desire: of desiring and of being desired, it includes a very strong passion and a desire to "be with". C. S. Lewis notes Eros as the form of love that denotes "being in love" with somebody, although his definition is a little different from the Amoratic conception of love. Eros in Amoratics is more so about affection, sympathy, and relaxation, while Lewis uses "affection" for denoting Storge. Eros comes from animalistic instincts, namely sex, but sex is only a single elementary principle concerning Eros. Lewis calls lust "Venus," and while Venus wants a thing, the Eros wants a person, and is overwhelmed by a desirous feeling for the individual. If a lustful man "wants a woman" he does not really want the individual, he wants what the woman can satisfy. However, if an Erotic man (in the context of Eros) "wants a woman," they are thinking of the person in their totality, where lust has no room to dominate. Sex may come as a consequence of a passion for the individual, but is not the totality of Eros. Romeo and Juliet fall under this category of Eros.

Mortido

Mania opposes Eros in the mortidinal functions and creates a feeling of dejectedness and an orientation for the aforementioned lustful feelings. Erotic passion is then replaced more so with lust, the feeling and spirit of Eros loses its bonding quality and the Maniac becomes oriented to an ownership of the object of desire. While the Eros is simply the spirit and bond of desire through sympathy, Mania truly objectifies the other person and embodies Venus, he wants what the woman can satisfy, not who the woman is. Further, Mania is unfaithful and erratic, the relaxing quality of Eros is distorted into an unhealthy obsessiveness which can lead to crimes incurred by frustrated sexuality. Incel culture and pedophilia may fall under this category of Eros when it becomes extreme.

Philia || Phobia

Libido

Philia is the love shared between friends. While Eros welds people together with the sparks of passion and sympathy, Philia is oriented to creating friendly ties with others, and is thus placed in the sphere of trusting or fearing, but it is not just about being friendly and trusting, but the nature of the psychological perception of such relationships. It is the least natural of all the loves, and as such is the constitution of community. Community is an important aspect here, as Lewis explains that Philia is the least jealous of loves, and is hardly as effective given a relationship spanning only two people, "Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend." Despite this sense of community, individuality also augments the expression of Philia, as if one loses friend A, they lose a part of friend A in friend B also. Through the individual's unique perception of others, they communicate that vision as a part of themselves to others. Here the mental energies of trust and interest are the two most defining factors of Philia.

Mortido

The pattern which opposes Philia is that of Phobia, which ultimately describes a loss of trust in the friendly relationship, turning it unfriendly, distant, awkward, and especially veiled. The intentions of the Phobic become hidden as an increasingly loss of faith in trusting as a whole becomes more apparent, and they have a greater tendency to becoming non-conformists who are fundamentally opposed to the common interests of others. These are antagonists of the community, or in less extreme manifestations simply isolated and lonely of their own volition, rejecting the need to be in good company.

Agape || Pragma

Libido

Agape is a mental pattern that is responsible for perceiving and showing help in relationships with other people. It can manifest as support and care for oneself and others. Agape defines how a person helps and supports other people.

Mortido

Storge || Tyranny

"Affection"