Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from
the most sublime virtue or good habit, or the deepest interpersonal affection, to the
simplest pleasure.[1] An example of this range of meanings is that the love of a mother
differs from the love of a spouse, which differs from the love of food. Most commonly,
love refers to a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment.[2]
Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing
human kindness, compassion, and affection—"the unselfish, loyal, and benevolent
concern for the good of another"—and its vice representing a human moral flaw akin
to vanity, selfishness, amour-propre, and egotism. It may also describe compassionate
and affectionate actions towards other humans, oneself, or animals. [3] In its various
forms, love acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships, and owing to its
central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative
arts.[4][5] Love has been postulated to be a function that keeps human beings together
against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species.[6]
Ancient Greek philosophers identified six forms of love: familial love (storge), friendly
love or platonic love (philia), romantic love (eros), self-love (philautia), guest
love (xenia), and divine or unconditional love (agape). Modern authors have
distinguished further varieties of love: fatuous love, unrequited love, empty
love, companionate love, consummate love, infatuated love (limerence), amour de soi,
and courtly love. Numerous cultures have also
distinguished Ren, Yuanfen, Mamihlapinatapai, Cafuné, Kama, Bhakti, Mettā, Ishq, Che
sed, Amore, charity, Saudade (and other variants or symbioses of these states), as
culturally unique words, definitions, or expressions of love in regard to specified
"moments" currently lacking in the English language.[7]
The color wheel theory of love defines three primary, three secondary, and nine tertiary
love styles, describing them in terms of the traditional color wheel. The triangular theory
of love suggests intimacy, passion, and commitment are core components of love. Love
has additional religious or spiritual meaning. This diversity of uses and meanings,
combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to
consistently define, compared to other emotional states.
Definitions
The word "love" can have a variety of related but distinct meanings in different contexts.
Many other languages use multiple words to express some of the different concepts that
in English are denoted as "love"; one example is the plurality of Greek concepts for
"love" (agape, eros, philia, storge).[8] Cultural differences in conceptualizing love makes
it difficult to establish a universal definition.[9]
Although the nature or essence of love is a subject of frequent debate, different aspects
of the word can be clarified by determining what is not love (antonyms of "love"). Love,
as a general expression of positive sentiment (a stronger form of like), is commonly
contrasted with hate (or neutral apathy). As a less sexual and more emotionally
intimate form of romantic attachment, love is commonly contrasted with lust. As an
interpersonal relationship with romantic overtones, love is sometimes contrasted
with friendship, although the word love is often applied to close friendships or platonic
love. Further possible ambiguities come with usages like "girlfriend", "boyfriend", and
"just good friends".
Fraternal love (Prehispanic sculpture from 250 to 900 CE,
of Huastec origin). Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Abstractly discussed, love usually refers to a feeling one person experiences for another
person. Love often involves caring for, or identifying with, a person or thing
(cf. vulnerability and care theory of love), including oneself (cf. narcissism). In addition
to cross-cultural differences in understanding love, ideas about love have also changed
greatly over time. Some historians date modern conceptions of romantic love to courtly
Europe during or after the Middle Ages, although the prior existence of romantic
attachments is attested by ancient love poetry.[10]
The complex and abstract nature[clarification needed] of love often reduces its discourse to
a thought-terminating cliché. Several common proverbs regard love, from Virgil's "Love
conquers all" to The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love". St. Thomas Aquinas,
following Aristotle, defines love as "to will the good of another."[11][12] Bertrand
Russell describes love as a condition of[clarification needed] "absolute value," as opposed
to relative value.[13] Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz said that love is "to be delighted by the
happiness of another."[14] Meher Baba stated that in love there is a "feeling of unity" and
an "active appreciation of the intrinsic worth of the object of love." [15] Biologist Jeremy
Griffith defines love as "unconditional selflessness".[16] According to Ambrose Bierce,
love is a temporary insanity curable by marriage.[17]
Impersonal
People can express love towards things other than humans; this can range from
expressing a strong liking of something, such as "I love popcorn" or that something is
essential to one's identity, such as "I love being an actor".[18]
People can have a profound dedication and immense appreciation for an object,
principle, or objective, thereby experiencing a sense of love towards it. For example,
compassionate outreach and volunteer workers' "love" of their cause may sometimes be
born not of interpersonal love but impersonal love, altruism, and strong spiritual or
political convictions.[3]
People can also "love" material objects, animals, or activities if they invest themselves
in bonding or otherwise identifying with those things. If sexual passion is also involved,
then this feeling is called paraphilia.[19]
