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The heart - one's feelings and emotions - where is it? Is the heart tangible, or not? Does it exist at all? Before love can be spoken about in any manner, the existence of the heart must be determined. For, what is the point of discussing love between two men, or people in general, if there is no heart. In other words, if we have no heart, we cannot love, and without love the many shounen-ai (boy love) stories we share on this forum are without meaning. For this reason, I suggest we strike up a discussion on the existence of the heart, so that we can begin to validate the supposed meaning within our beloved shounen-ai. That meaning being that the love between two homosexual men is not only acceptable, but also desirable – we can be happy when the protagonists are together at the end of the story. There are many perspectives on the issue of the existence of the heart/mind/ soul. I would like to present one topic presented by my username's namesake, Ulquiorra Cifer of the anime Bleach. Cifer is a nihilist, one who rejects the existence of all things that he cannot see with his own eyes. In the following excerpt we see him explaining his initial philosophy on the existence of the heart: "Hearts, you say? You humans are always so quick to speak of such things. As though you carry your hearts in the very palms of your hands. But this eye of mine perceives all. There is nothing that it overlooks. If this eye cannot see a thing, then it does not exist. That is the assumption under which I have always fought. What is this "heart"? If I tear open that chest of yours, will I see it there? If I smash open that skull of yours, will I see it there?" (Bleach manga, Chapter 317, pp. 20) The Russian philosopher and novelist, Ivan Turgenev wrote in his book Fathers and Sons, “A nihilist is a person who does not look up to any authorities, who does not accept a single principle on faith, no matter how highly that principle may be esteemed.” In our discussion, the “esteemed principle” is the faith humans have that the heart exists. The nihilist, Cifer, outright rejects the existence of the heart. This is because he must determine on his own accord that the heart exists, as he will not take the word of any higher authority. The “heart” cannot be perceived by the eyes though, as it is made up of the intangible thoughts and feelings. This is suggested by notion of the heart is suggested by Orihime Inoue, Cifer’s antitheist. In his death though, Cifer comes to an epiphany. He acknowledges the existence of the heart, as Inoue reaches out to him. His final words were, "I see. This. Yes. This thing in my hand is the heart?” The cause of his quick turnaround in his philosophy is unknown, but may be due to the fact that in that moment he could sense Inoue’s emotions; feeling her heart. One can only ponder on why it is only at this moment he changes his mind, but even the nihilist the one who rejects all he can’t see – eventually accepts the notion of the heart, or at least in this specific case. This is a discussion though. What are your opinions on this matter? Is Cifer’s initial philosophy that the “heart” cannot be seen and therefore doesn’t exist. Or is his epiphany, the heart being “in his hand,” –his physically disintegrated hand - correct? Share your thoughts on the matter, so that we can all come to a better understanding of the heart. The heart, without which, you can have no love – or shounen-ai in our case. Videos of Ulquiorra Cifer explaining his philosophy: