Love: Verb 1. If you love someone, you have strong emotional feelings of affection for them. 2. If you love something, you like it very much. 3. If you would love to do something, you want very much to do it. 4. Love is a strong emotional feeling of affection for someone or something. 5. In tennis, love is a score of zero. 6. If you are in love with someone, you feel strongly attracted to them, romantically or sexually. 7. When two people make love, they have sex.
Well, that is what the dictionary has to say about the subject, so... I guess that is it, right?
WRONG
Not one definition listed above sufficiently explains what Love is all about, I've been flicking through my Ethical Studies book, and it particularly places a whole load of stress on this concept of love.
"The Law of Love is the ultimate law because it is the negation of law"
"Love thy neighbour as thyself is the ultimate duty"
"The situationist follows a moral law or violates it according to loves need."
But what the HELL is love?!
I mean, really, when it all boils down to it, is it as clinical as the dictionary says- a strong emotional feeling of affection? Is it more than that? Someone once told me that love is simply an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, in that case, could someone really be drugged into love?
Poets, artists, writers, philosophers, hundreds of people have struggled with the concept, the bible places such great emphasis on love, but doesn't actually explain what it is, how does a person know they are in love? Does it actually exist?!
There is another quote, from a movie (I forget which one) which says "Love is a trick invented by bank managers to make us go overdrawn" is there more validity to this than you would initially think? Is the concept of 'love' something that people have invented to make themselves feel more important to each other than they actually are, or so that partners can extort things from each other- if you love me, you'll have sex with me, if you love me, you'll buy x for me.
So many couples get together because they believe they love each other, they even bring children into the world, and then they start to drift apart, their love fades, and they fight and have a divorce, bringing only misery and pain.
Or maybe, as I'm sure someone will point out, you have to actually experience love to be able to understand it... that seems quite likely, if there really is such an emotion, or feeling, but then, perhaps people only ever trick themselves into love out of a fear of dying alone, I don't know...
I just know I'm confused as to how such a vague concept can play such an important part in human life... much like freedom I suppose.
Thoughts on my inane babbling?
Damn the english language for having the word love cover hundreds of very different concepts!
On that note, good try.
Love is both an explanation and a reason.
edit: Not to mention cause and excuse.
edit+edit: It also most easily explained by people who have no clue and simple answers.
"Love is..."?
Geez, when did Hallmark start publishing Disordian greeting cards?
Love is not. Love acts. Love obeys. Love demands.
Love hurts. Love kills. Love saves. Love writes corny song lyrics.
Love bribed a man with another's wife. Love recieved the Golden Apple. Love started war. Love never put out like a ten dollar whore.
Love came in like a lion and went out with a nasty custody battle. Love suffers not the children.
Love makes no analogies. Love makes no distinctions. Love makes everything else. Love never moved a mountain, but love destroyed empires.
Love draws doodles of Mohammed in the margins of a Hymnal. Love erases those doodles with blood.
Love gives men a reason to exist, while taking their ability to reason.
Love can, love does. Love dreams, love dies.
Love forgets, but never forgives.
Love forgives, but never forgets.
Love googles for Zero Wing fanfic.
Love does not understand age, race, gender, or species. Love understands fucking. Love fucks us all.
And we enjoy every minute of it.
I think Buddhist_Monk_Wannabe hit the nail on the head there, the english language isn't specific enough damnit! But... all nice answers so far. Cool.
Quote from: Buddhist_Monk_WannabeDamn the english language for having the word love cover hundreds of very different concepts!
On that note, good try.
Logical Positivist! LOGICAL POSITIVIST!
Tar and feather him!
Quote from: CainQuote from: Buddhist_Monk_WannabeDamn the english language for having the word love cover hundreds of very different concepts!
On that note, good try.
Logical Positivist! LOGICAL POSITIVIST!
Tar and feather him!
WTF? Im not making a judgement worth based upon verification. "good try" alludes to the authors ramblings being a genuine attempt to figure it out.
Yes, I may often say "Put onto Science what is Science's", but that doesn't make me think ethics and emotion are metaphysics!
No, but I forgot what the branch of philosophy that thought all problems were based in language were called. If they weren't Log. Pos. then they were close ot it.
Quote from: CainNo, but I forgot what the branch of philosophy that thought all problems were based in language were called. If they weren't Log. Pos. then they were close ot it.
I think most of the worlds conflics and problems are based in bad communications which is based upon misunderstanding of the others languaculture. NOT Log. Positism, but I would like to know what that branch is called.
Love
Hmmmm
Love is what makes a man take a stand for what he believes in, although a hundred guns may point at his heart, love gives him the courage to step into the fire for good or ill.
Love has built nations and love has brought them down.
Love can bring two people together and make their lives a never-ending joy.
Love can tear two people apart and destroy all that they are.
Love can inspire one to the greatest acts of compassion and kindness and love can drive us to commit the worst of atrocities in it's name.
Love is part of what makes us Human, the capacity for love is a vital and important part of each of us. but it is a sword with two edges to wielded in many ways and like all weapons can be turned against t's owner as easily as it can eb turned against our foes.
love is the relationship between any two things
just a hunch
Love is the intrinsic structure of all things physical, paraphysical, mental, psychological, metaphysical, emotional, and interpersonal, and fear is it's dualist evil twin.
Quote from: ExtemporaneaLove is the intrinsic structure of all things physical, paraphysical, mental, psychological, metaphysical, emotional, and interpersonal, and fear is it's dualist evil twin.
Actually, I think its twin is apathy.
apathy vs fear
hmmmmmmm
interesting contrast
Quote from: CainNo, but I forgot what the branch of philosophy that thought all problems were based in language were called. If they weren't Log. Pos. then they were close ot it.
Love is General Semantics. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Semantics)
Quote from: the other anonymousQuote from: CainNo, but I forgot what the branch of philosophy that thought all problems were based in language were called. If they weren't Log. Pos. then they were close ot it.
Love is General Semantics. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Semantics)
That wasn't the exact system I was thinking of, but it will do.
Quote from: CainQuote from: the other anonymousQuote from: CainNo, but I forgot what the branch of philosophy that thought all problems were based in language were called. If they weren't Log. Pos. then they were close ot it.
Love is General Semantics. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Semantics)
That wasn't the exact system I was thinking of, but it will do.
Love bears a striking resemblance to that e-prime crap?
Only insofar as I dont understand either, perhaps.
Quote from: CainOnly insofar as I dont understand either, perhaps.
Semiotics?
Please! I must guess the correct answer! I must solve this rddle! I must have your approval!
:lol:
I honestly cant remember. I thought it was Logical Positivism, but apparently it isn't. It was one of the philosophies related to it though, built upon Wittgenstein's theories and so on.
Quote from: Buddhist_Monk_WannabeQuote from: CainNo, but I forgot what the branch of philosophy that thought all problems were based in language were called. If they weren't Log. Pos. then they were close ot it.
I think most of the worlds conflics and problems are based in bad communications which is based upon misunderstanding of the others languaculture. NOT Log. Positism, but I would like to know what that branch is called.
i once read an awesome book about this subject called Language and the Pursuit of Truth [zipped txt] (http://d23.u55.biz/latpotv10.zip) again, i didn't get all the way through the end, but the first few chapters are quite interesting (words as signs, arguing about the meaning of a word instead of the actual statement being made, etc)
Love seems to be an empathic attachment to an object or person, where any hurt, damage, or injury that occurs to one causes mental and emotional pain to the other.
And, in a lesser sense, the same with pleasure.