Love is the glue that holds relationships together. It’s a deep, biological emotion, yet it’s hard to define. People sometimes confuse it with other feelings like lust, attraction, and companionship. However, love can be described as an intense, euphoric feeling. It involves being with the other person and accepting and trusting each other fully.
Rather than seeing love as a state that comes and goes, researchers say that it is an emotion that persists over time. These researchers argue that love is complex, encompassing multiple emotions. These emotions interrelate to create the intuitive feeling of “depth” that people feel. Pismenny and Prinz (2017) claim that love is a multidimensional concept characterized by many different components and emotions.
One view of love is an emotion complex view, which emphasizes the evaluative nature of love and its effects on other persons. This view rejects the over-deterministic character of the union view, which focuses on the physical act of loving. It also avoids the narrow teleological focus of the robust concern view.
Other views of love describe it in more philosophical terms. Philosophers such as F.H. Bradley, considered Britain’s greatest philosopher, have developed a view of love that focuses on personal love. However, recent studies by Jaworska and Wonderly offer a more general account of love. Both accounts claim that love is a necessary component of human relationships.
Although the concept of love is universal, its definition is highly individualized. A person can love an unspecified person, a principle, or a religion. In the Greeks, love was called Agape. This love never fades, no matter what the recipient does or says. It exists in everything, including non-human creatures. A parent’s love for a child is often an Agape love.
When we experience romantic love, our brains release dopamine. This hormone is released in the caudate nucleus, which is a reward system in the human brain. In addition, the ventral tegmental area is activated in the brain, which is responsible for motivation and craving. Interestingly, these brain areas light up similarly during the cocaine rush.
Love is an intense emotion that involves caring, affection, and self-sacrifice. It is a divine gift that comes from the Triune Godhead and the eternal relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Humans have the ability to love and be loving, a unique part of being an image-bearer of God. Love is a complex and difficult emotion to describe.
Regardless of what kind of love you feel, you should learn to tolerate differences in others. Love should be a reciprocal process, rather than a competition. If both partners are egoistic, it is unlikely that they will be committed. It’s also important to find someone who understands your differences and doesn’t mind if you have different opinions.
While love is often the best thing in the world, it can also be the worst. In fact, the line between romantic love and hate is a thin one. Both emotions are located in the same part of our brain, which means that they can change rapidly.