My last post may have not been as clear as I wanted it to be. This post, hopefully, will be better.

I have spoken much about love in previous posts. My view on what love is and how it operates is definitely not shared by many. In fact, my own partner doesn’t agree with my viewpoint. As she has stated to me recently, I tend to be rather serious and listening to me often gives her existential dread. For this, I sincerely apologize. Honestly, I wish I didn’t think as I did or know what I know.

I have also been watching the series Rick and Morty lately, and recently finished the season 2 finale. During the episode, brief snippets of Hurt, as performed by Nine Inch Nails play. Most people seem more familiar with Johnny Cash‘s cover of the song, but I have always preferred the original.

So much for being more clear. With this background, I will attempt to tie everything together now.

Faith, I believe, is a manifestation of free will. And, as I have stated before, love is a a choice, which is another way of saying it is an expression of free will. That is, I exercise my free will (assuming it exists) when I purport to love someone. I chose to be in love, in some sense. When I express this, I am also manifesting faith, specifically my faith in the fact that my feelings for my partner are genuine and true and sincere. I have no way of proving myself; there is no evidence that can be provided to prove whether I love or do not love someone. When I express my love, it will be up to me to convince those around me that my love is true and genuine. If I fail in this task, then others will suggest my love is not love at all, regardless of my own feelings on the matter. This can be particularly challenging with respect to my partner; if she does not believe that my love is true, then our relationship is likely to fail.

On the reality show Love Island, there are many characters who purport to love other characters. Is their love genuine? There is no way to be sure, because there is no evidence that can be provided to clarify such a claim. The best we (as the audience) can do is witness the character’s actions and choices to see if they are consistent with how we believe a person in love would behave. The immediate challenge you should be thinking about presently is that it entirely depends on the definition of love of the viewer, and you would be correct to express this concern.

In the episode of Rick and Morty I have described above, Rick repeatedly suggests to everyone that he does not love Morty, nor the rest of his family. However, his actions and behavior is inconsistent with what most viewers would consider to be evidence of love. As the song Hurt plays, Rick is performing self sacrificing acts, allowing himself to be apprehended by the Galactic Federation. Furthermore, he suggests that it is his son-in-law who is to be rewarded in his capture, suggesting that his family is to be protected and returned to Earth safely. It is interesting to me that the lines “and you could have it all, my empire of dirt” play in this situation, considering the fact that Earth is often referred to as a ball of dirt floating about the cosmos, and considering the fact that Rick is purported to be the most intelligent (and possibly most powerful) entity in all the multiverse. The lyrics seem to be suggesting that Rick is willing to sacrifice absolutely everything to save his family. The lyrics also seem to suggest his reasons for doing so are with his realization that he has been causing great harm and pain upon those he loves (“I will let you down, I will make you hurt”).

Back on Love Island, most of the characters suggest their entire reason for being at the resort is to find true love. Yet they spend their time holding back from throwing themselves into their respective relationships. It is true that throwing one’s self into a relationship where their partner does not reciprocate their feelings can end in a great deal of pain, however, holding back can (and seems to often) result in just as much pain. Stringing someone along, in hopes that it will somehow work out, generally created even more drama and pain than if those same people simply made a commitment to each other and were honest with their feelings, both with their partners but also with themselves.

The characters of Love Island do NOT have faith in themselves, nor in their relationships. They choose not to exercise their free will nor choose their partners. It seems to me that they prefer to place their hopes and dreams in some “higher power” to magically create that perfect relationship that they wish they could have. They have the power to make themselves (and their partners) happy, but instead choose not to exercise their power.

I am reminded of discussions in my Philosophy of Science class from over a year ago. How some philosophers and scientists believe that the world exists and most things must be discovered in it. That the purpose of science is discovery. However, there are those, like myself, who believe that these things are not out there to be discovered. We create them. We create everything. The world is a reflection of our collective will and our collective actions. And I am not restricting this to just human will or human action; I am suggesting all will and all action, including the will and action of my pet rabbit Jasper, or even of the mosquitoes that annoy us during the summer.

Simone de Beauvoir and the other Existentialists suggested that there was no inherent meaning or purpose in the world. Any meaning or purpose had to be given by a will. A will demonstrates meaning or purpose through action. By making choices, and acting in accordance to those choices, we all generate the meaning and purpose in all the world. And this is why I say that the world is simply a reflection of us all.

Rick’s greatest power in his world may simply be his willingness to act and make choices at all times. He decides for himself, at all times, and his actions tell a story far and beyond the words he may speak. The characters in Love Island, it seems to me, follow a similar pattern, though those characters seem to do the opposite of Rick, rendering them impotent and unsatisfied. Rick has faith. The characters of Love Island do not.