Agape as the Quintessence of Human Existence in Mitch Albom’s Selected Novels

This study generally aimed to analyze the doctrine of agape as the quintessence of human existence in Mitch Albom’s selected novels and their implications on noted Filipino values. This paper employed the qualitative philosophical method of research in analyzing the tenets of agape in the representative literary works chosen. This involved the science of textual criticism and hermeneutics supported by the researcher’s analysis and insights with reference to the content of the texts to bring about the philosophical treatment of the identified works. The results of analysis and interpretation revealed that the signification of agape in Mitch Albom’s selected novels defines the deep philosophical meaning of the quintessence of human existence; Albom is one of the thinkers who philosophizes that the essence of being is agape and the self cannot genuinely encounter reality unless man assumes the existential attitude of love as it encompasses truth, freedom, peace and death; the spiritual manifestations of human existence with reference to the foregoing themes were unveiled through the author’s use of some literary devices; and Albom’s writings can challenge and inspire the Filipinos to change the way they think and review their values through the tenets of literature supplied by the re-examined contemporary novelist and his commitment to life here and thereafter.

Keywords: Agape, Human Existence, Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Tuesdays with Morrie