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Federica Gregoratto, Love Troubles: A Philosophy of Eros, Columbia University Press, 2025, 280 pp., $35.00 (pbk) ISBN 9780231217637.
Reviewed by Matteo Santarelli, University of Bologna
In her ambitious Love Troubles: A Philosophy of Eros, Federica Gregoratto takes on the challenging task of presenting a critical and intricate philosophy of eros that is both normative and not reducible to simplistic, Manichaean polarizations. To accomplish this, the author makes three main theoretical moves. First, she takes a stance that is neither overly romantic nor dismissive. In other words, she takes a critical approach that does not diminish the power and political significance of love. Secondly, she affirms the inherently ambivalent nature of loving bonds. Thirdly, she focuses on the erotic dimension of love, thereby excluding familial and parental bonds but including friendships. These three moves have significant consequences. Most importantly, there are no unproblematic conceptions of love. In other words, troubledness is an…
