Which C.S. Lewis work explains four categories of love?

The story behind the answer

The Four Loves explains four categories of love in C.S. Lewis’s framework.

Published in 1960, The Four Loves develops ideas first presented in a BBC radio broadcast series. Lewis discusses affection, friendship, eros, and charity, using the Greek terms storge, philia, eros, and agape to distinguish different kinds of human attachment.

The book does not treat these categories as completely isolated emotions. Lewis examines how they overlap, how they can become distorted, and how natural forms of love relate to divine love. His argument combines literary examples, Christian theology, and observations about family and friendship.

The Four Loves is often confused with Mere Christianity because both are widely read works of Lewis’s Christian nonfiction. Mere Christianity develops a case for central Christian beliefs, while The Four Loves focuses specifically on the varieties and dangers of love.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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