Which C.S. Lewis book explains Christianity through four kinds of love?

The Four Loves is the C.S. Lewis book that examines four kinds of love. Published in 1960, it grew out of a BBC radio series and discusses affection, friendship, romantic love, and charity.

Lewis uses Greek terms to distinguish the kinds: storge for natural affection, philia for friendship, eros for romantic love, and agape for self-giving charity. He argues that human loves can be valuable while also becoming distorted when treated as ultimate or completely self-sufficient.

The book is often confused with Mere Christianity because both present Lewis’s Christian ideas for a general audience. Mere Christianity develops a broad case for Christian belief, while The Four Loves focuses on relationships and the moral and spiritual dimensions of loving. Its title refers to the four categories Lewis analyzes, not four characters or four stories.