What is the difference between romantic and platonic love?

The Greeks had many different words for love, such as agápe (and love of god for man & vice versa, and “to will the good of another” –Aquinas), éros (romantic, sexual love), philia (affectionate regard between equals, such as friends), and xenia (hospitality for guests and foreigners), among others. Platonic could be just about any of these except éros, but most likely philia. For more info on philia read Plato’s Nicomachean Ethics. O’Neill Library 5th floor at B430.A5 O7.

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.