philosophy of love...

[dannyday5821]

is "love" a natural emotion? it seems to me that its something created by us humans - rather than something natural. i know there is a million different types of love - but in this case i dont mean love in the sense of something like a mother and son nurturing love. i mean love in the good old classical relationship love. i think love is so confusing for so many people, is because its not natural, if you havent learned it from somewhere - then it becomes a mystery, as its not an emotion that comes naturally... im just thinking off the top of my head - what do you guys reckon?

[melonberry]

I think it's got to be natural. At one point in your life you had never been in love, never experienced it, never knew what it was or what it was like. Yet we hear from countless people who claim they have, people from all over the world and from all different ways of life. How can we have this in common if it isn't natural?

Check out this video about the science of love

[JockSporran]

Love is a beautiful obsession. It is a natural emotion as it doesn't have to be taught. But the question is: is it a particularly human thing? A dog can give you unconditional love, but obsessing or daydreaming about somebody when they are not there seems to be an ability of humans. Do dolphins and apes feel such emotions? I cannot answer.

[beso]

It is an actual physical thing which alters the human physically and psychologically in many ways.

"We" created it in as much as we created everything of the beings we are through our behaviour since g...g granddad was an amoeba.

I have often considered that love itself is what makes billions of single cells join together to form a human being. We are a spectacular example of what small things working together in genuine cooperation can achieve.

This force is quite apparent between people when their cells are in love with those comprising each other. Those who have know this kind of attraction will attest to the powerful effects of love at this scale.

[Tups]

There's the old saying, 'It's love that makes the world go round' and in a way, it's true! You see animals behaving altruistically towards each other and indeed, being loyal to humans. I'm not sure you can call that 'love' though. Maybe it's love that sets us apart from the animal kingdom? Or, who knows, maybe doggy love and the love between other animals is what maintains the species? Great philosophers have mused about the subject for hundreds of years. One thing is for sure; falling in love and being loved in return is the most fantastic feeling on earth! We can't make it happen; it just does! And when it does, you live, breathe, eat, sleep, dream that love. It's all consuming. Sadly, that initial intensity fades and relationships only survive if there is a deep-seated mutual interest as their foundation. If you are a Christian, the most important message of all is 'God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son ...' Love is the very essence of Christianity. Don't know much about other religions but I'd hazzard a guess that the same isn't true of many ...?

[Tups]

Melonberry thanks for that video link. It's fascinating! Thoroughly recommend it!