Having been created of one essence. (i) is used as both a verb (e.g. In the condition of separation, there is an acute yearning for being with the beloved and in the condition of union, there is supreme happiness and nectarean. God is also referenced at the beginning of every chapter in the Qur'an as Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim, or the "Most Compassionate" and the "Most Merciful", indicating that nobody is more loving, compassionate and benevolent than God. Biological models of love tend to see it as a mammalian drive, similar to hunger or thirst. If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. [33], Interpersonal love between a male and a female is considered to provide an evolutionary adaptive benefit since it facilitates mating and sexual reproduction. Infatuated love only includes passion. Second, a gene in either parent may contain a harmful mutation, but in the progeny produced by sex reproduction, expression of a harmful mutation introduced by one parent is likely to be masked by expression of the unaffected homologous gene from the other parent.[34]. [34] However, some organisms can reproduce asexually without mating. "[58], Love encompasses the Islamic view of life as universal brotherhood that applies to all who hold faith. Love often involves caring for, or identifying with, a person or thing (cf. Plato refined his own definition.
For many Hindu schools, it is the third end (Kama) in life. [68] The philosophical investigation of love includes the tasks of distinguishing between the various kinds of personal love, asking if and how love is or can be justified, asking what the value of love is, and what impact love has on the autonomy of both the lover and the beloved.[67]. This life of love, according to him, is the life of the saints such as Teresa of Calcutta and Mary, the mother of Jesus and is the direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them. As a less-sexual and more-emotionally intimate form of romantic attachment, love is commonly contrasted with lust. Thus understanding the adaptive benefit of interpersonal love depends on understanding the adaptive benefit of sexual reproduction as opposed to asexual reproduction. A common viewpoint of Sufism is that through love, humankind can get back to its inherent purity and grace. Other terms such as Priya refers to innocent love, Prema refers to spiritual love, and Kama refers usually to sexual desire. [23] Helen Fisher, an anthropologist and human behavior researcher, divides the experience of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment. The Torah's commandment to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5) is taken by the Mishnah (a central text of the Jewish oral law) to refer to good deeds, willingness to sacrifice one's life rather than commit certain serious transgressions, willingness to sacrifice all of one's possessions, and being grateful to the Lord despite adversity (tractate Berachoth 9:5). Robert E. Van Voorst, RELG: World, Wadsworth, This page was last edited on 12 July 2022, at 16:21. Companionate love includes intimacy and commitment. For example, Book 10 of Rig Veda describes the creation of the universe from nothing by the great heat. A world of wronged hypocrites needs forgiving love. However, in a few unusual and specific domains, such as immune systems, it seems that humans prefer others who are unlike themselves (e.g., with an orthogonal immune system), since this will lead to a baby that has the best of both worlds. These effects rarely last more than a few weeks or months. Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit, [citation needed]. He said that a human being, created in the image of God, who is love, is able to practice love; to give himself to God and others (agape) and by receiving and experiencing God's love in contemplation (eros). Attachment is the bonding that promotes relationships lasting for many years and even decades. In contrast to kma, prema or prem refers to elevated love. In recent years, the sciences of psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, and biology have added to the understanding of the concept of love. [citation needed] In the Persian culture, everything is encompassed by love and all is for love, starting from loving friends and family, husbands and wives, and eventually reaching the divine love that is the ultimate goal in life. Diligere often has the notion "to be affectionate for," "to esteem," and rarely if ever is used for romantic love. DOI:10.1002/j.2326-1951.1989.tb02156.x. narcissism). Lust is the feeling of sexual desire; romantic attraction determines what partners mates find attractive and pursue, conserving time and energy by choosing; and attachment involves sharing a home, parental duties, mutual defense, and in humans involves feelings of safety and security. Rabbinic literature differs as to how this love can be developed, e.g., by contemplating divine deeds or witnessing the marvels of nature. [8] 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. [30] In recent years, various human bonding theories have been developed, described in terms of attachments, ties, bonds, and affinities. The traditional psychological view sees love as being a combination of companionate love and passionate love. God desires to recognize beauty, and as if one looks at a mirror to see oneself, God "looks" at himself within the dynamics of nature. Philia is motivated by practical reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. Following the Meiji Restoration 1868, the term became associated with "love" in order to translate Western literature. "[19] Biologist Jeremy Griffith defines love as "unconditional selflessness". [citation needed] Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz said that love is "to be delighted by the happiness of another. Her example of love is considered to be beyond the understanding of material realm as it surpasses any form of selfish love or lust that is visible in the material world. Instead of frequently saying "I love you" as in some Western societies, the Chinese are more likely to express feelings of affection in a more casual way.
||[48] You are not worthy to be called by the name of "man". It is an obstacle on the path to enlightenment, since it is selfish. Do not even pagans do that? He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. In his Paris Talks, `Abdu'l-Bah described four types of love: the love that flows from God to human beings; the love that flows from human beings to God; the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God; and the love of human beings for human beings.[60]. [35][36] Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of romantic love. (John 3:1617, NIV) John also wrote, "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. This love is unconditional and requires considerable self-acceptance.
"[57], Do not forget to love with forgiveness, Christ saved an adulterous woman from those who would stone her. [42][43], In contemporary literature, the Sanskrit words for love is "sneha". In the 20th century, the science of psychology has written a great deal on the subject. (Further possible ambiguities come with usages "girlfriend", "boyfriend", "just good friends"). It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. The Latin language has several different verbs corresponding to the English word "love." The love of Radha, a cowherd girl, for Krishna is often cited as the supreme example of love for Godhead by Gaudiya Vaishnavas.
A core concept to Confucianism is (Ren, "benevolent love"), which focuses on duty, action, and attitude in a relationship rather than love itself. In the Bhakti tradition within Hinduism, it is believed that execution of devotional service to God leads to the development of Love for God (taiche bhakti-phale krsne prema upajaya), and as love for God increases in the heart, the more one becomes free from material contamination (krishna-prema asvada haile, bhava nasa paya). This would favor monogamous relationships over polygamy. Lust, according to Saint Augustine, is an overindulgence, but to love and be loved is what he has sought for his entire life.
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) . Gospel of Mark chapter 12, verses 2834). [59] God in Sufism is referred to in three main terms, which are the Lover, Loved, and Beloved, with the last of these terms being often seen in Sufi poetry. He further states that "loveis a feeling that expresses itself in action. Radha is considered to be the internal potency of Krishna, and is the supreme lover of Godhead. His work states that three factors constitute love: attachment, caring, and intimacy.[28][29].
St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle, defines love as "to will the good of another. Describing love in the famous poetic interpretation in 1 Corinthians, he wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. There in hymn 129, it states: | Karu is compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others. It has been linked to higher levels of the chemicals oxytocin and vasopressin to a greater degree than short-term relationships have. He is usually accompanied by his consort Rati and his companion Vasanta, lord of the spring season. Are not even the tax collectors doing that? "[18] 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. In Mandarin Chinese, (i) is often used as the equivalent of the Western concept of love. Love has additional religious or spiritual meaning. In certain Vaishnava sects within Hinduism, attaining unadulterated, unconditional and incessant love for Godhead is considered the foremost goal of life. This is quite different from ordinary love, which is usually about attachment and sex and which rarely occurs without self-interest. Gaudiya Vaishnavas who worship Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the cause of all causes consider Love for Godhead (Prema) to act in two ways: sambhoga and vipralambha (union and separation)two opposites.[61]. Over the last century, research on the nature of human mating has generally found this not to be true when it comes to character and personalitypeople tend to like people similar to themselves. If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor's wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you. If sexual passion is also involved, then this feeling is called paraphilia.[22]. [14] Cultural differences in conceptualizing love thus doubly impede the establishment of a universal definition.[15]. Empty love only includes commitment. Two philosophical underpinnings of love exist in the Chinese tradition, one from Confucianism which emphasized actions and duty while the other came from Mohism which championed a universal love. Liking only includes intimacy. [24] Three distinct neural circuitries, including neurotransmitters, and three behavioral patterns, are associated with these three romantic styles. Attachment between adults is presumed to work on the same principles that lead an infant to become attached to its mother. Intimacy is a form in which two people share confidences and various details of their personal lives, and is usually shown in friendships and romantic love affairs. Mohism stressed that rather than adopting different attitudes towards different people, love should be unconditional and offered to everyone without regard to reciprocation; not just to friends, family and other Confucian relations. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term, meaning "loving devotion to the supreme God." In Hinduism, kma is pleasurable, sexual love, personified by the god Kamadeva. 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. The Romans used it both in an affectionate sense as well as in a romantic or sexual sense. The concept of kama is found in some of the earliest known verses in Vedas. [65], Advocates of free love had two strong beliefs: opposition to the idea of forceful sexual activity in a relationship and advocacy for a woman to use her body in any way that she pleases. Consequently, "I like you" (, W xhuan n) is a more common way of expressing affection in Mandarin; it is more playful and less serious. Cicero wrote a treatise called On Friendship (de Amicitia), which discusses the notion at some length. Biological models of sex tend to view love as a mammalian drive, much like hunger or thirst. In this, he argued directly against Confucians who believed that it was natural and correct for people to care about different people in different degrees. And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? [67], The philosophy of love is a field of social philosophy and ethics that attempts to explain the nature of love. The other limbs cannot remain at rest. Unrequited love refers to those feelings of love that are not reciprocated. Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the existent's kinship in the non-existent. In Confucianism, one displays benevolent love by performing actions such as filial piety from children, kindness from parents, loyalty to the king and so forth. | Best 91 Definitions of Love", "Love Definition of love by Merriam-Webster", "St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 26, 4, corp. art", "Raised plasma nerve growth factor levels associated with early-stage romantic love", "Philosophy of Love | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy", "Japanese Words for "Love": The Difference between "Ai" and "Koi", "Augustine's Hermeneutics and Homiletics in, "Sri Lanka Philippines: Meeting with the young people in the sports field of Santo Tomas University (Manila, 18 January 2015) Francis", "The key to love according to Pope Francis", "Wonderful Characteristic of Krishna Prema, Gour Govinda Swami", "Love's Lessons: Intimacy, Pedagogy and Political Community", Interactions between the emotional and executive brain systems, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Love&oldid=1097772555, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles containing Sanskrit-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019, Articles containing Japanese-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Pages using Sister project links with wikidata namespace mismatch, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Pages using Sister project links with default search, Articles containing Portuguese-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. "[53], Saint Augustine wrote that one must be able to decipher the difference between love and lust. James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Volume 1, Rosen Publishing, New York. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [44][45] However, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music, painting, sculpture and nature.[46][47]. [54], Christian theologians see God as the source of love, which is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships. The 20th-century rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler is frequently quoted as defining love from the Jewish point of view as "giving without expecting to take" (from his Michtav me-Eliyahu, Vol. [9] Love has been postulated to be a function that keeps human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species. Romantic love includes both intimacy and passion. Latin sometimes uses amre where English would simply say to like. Furthermore, researchers as early as Charles Darwin himself identified unique features of human love compared to other mammals and credit love as a major factor for creating social support systems that enabled the development and expansion of the human species. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself.
As Thomas Aquinas explains, Christian love is motivated by the need to see others succeed in life, to be good people. [64], Many people in the early 19th century believed that marriage was an important aspect of life to "fulfill earthly human happiness." Interpersonal love refers to love between human beings. The word "love" can have a variety of related but distinct meanings in different contexts. It can also mean "love of the mind.". The Qur'an exhorts Muslim believers to treat all people, those who have not persecuted them, with birr or "deep kindness" as stated in Surah [ 6:8-9]. [27] American psychologist Zick Rubin sought to define love by psychometrics in the 1970s. Maara is another name for kma. Saint Augustine says the only one who can love you truly and fully is God, because love with a human only allows for flaws such as "jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and contention." Storge ( storg) is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring. Ovid wrote a guide to dating called Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), which addresses, in depth, everything from extramarital affairs to overprotective parents. In Hebrew, (ahava) is the most commonly used term for both interpersonal love and love between God and God's creations. A person who practices bhakti is called a bhakta. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. Karuna is compassion and mercy, which impels one to help reduce the suffering of others. Following developments in electrical theories such as Coulomb's law, which showed that positive and negative charges attract, analogs in human life were developed, such as "opposites attract". It claimed that such issues were the concern of the people involved, and no one else. Middle-class Americans wanted the home to be a place of stability in an uncertain world. Some translations list it as "love of the body". He even says, "I was in love with love." The philosophical work Narada Bhakti Sutras, written by an unknown author (presumed to be Narada), distinguishes eleven forms of love.
In Buddhism, Kma is sensuous, sexual love. However, due to the influence of Confucian (rn), the phrase (W i n, I love you) carries with it a very specific sense of responsibility, commitment and loyalty. Kamadeva is often pictured holding a bow of sugar cane and an arrow of flowers; he may ride upon a great parrot. Instead, in Buddhism it refers to detachment and unselfish interest in others' welfare. Regarding love for enemies, Jesus is quoted in the Gospel of Matthew: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' am is the basic verb meaning I love, with the infinitive amare ("to love") as it still is in Italian today. [23] Psychology sees love as more of a social and cultural phenomenon. The word agapo is the verb I love. 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. Xenia ( xena), hospitality, was an extremely important practice in ancient Greece. In this tradition, salvation or liberation is considered inferior to love, and just an incidental by-product. When the calamity of time afflicts one limb Michod, R.E. Most commonly, love refers to a feeling of a strong attraction and emotional attachment. The corresponding noun is amor (the significance of this term for the Romans is well illustrated in the fact, that the name of the city, Romein Latin: Romacan be viewed as an anagram for amor, which was used as the secret name of the City in wide circles in ancient times),[40] which is also used in the plural form to indicate love affairs or sexual adventures. Chapter 14, Commitment, Love, and Mate Retention by Lorne Campbell and Bruce J. Ellis. [42] The third term, ren'ai (), is a more modern construction that combines the kanji characters for both ai and koi, though its usage more closely resembles that of koi in the form of romantic love. The host fed and provided quarters for the guest, who was expected to repay only with gratitude. The Japanese language uses three words to convey the English equivalent of "love". Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years. Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. Mozi, by contrast, believed people in principle should care for all people equally. Krishna-prema is considered to make one drown in the ocean of transcendental ecstasy and pleasure. To love one's friends is common practice, to love one's enemies only among Christians. Greek distinguishes several different senses in which the word "love" is used. This word would be appropriate to describe the friendship of two men. The saints of Sufism are infamous for being "drunk" due to their love of God; hence, the constant reference to wine in Sufi poetry and music. [26], Psychology depicts love as a cognitive and social phenomenon. The Qur'an refers to God as being "full of loving kindness.". What we really feel is reflected in what we do. The love of man and womaneros in Greekand the unselfish love of others (agape), are often contrasted as "descending" and "ascending" love, respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.[51]. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Though modern usage of koi focuses on sexual love and infatuation, the Many used the term to cover a wider range of situations, including tenderness, benevolence, and material desire. This notion, however, is much more generally expressed in Latin by the terms placere or delectre, which are used more colloquially, the latter used frequently in the love poetry of Catullus. The conventional view in biology is that there are two major drives in love: sexual attraction and attachment. Thomas Kves-Zulauf, Reden und Schweigen, Munich, 1972. Benedict XVI named his first encyclical God is love. Love has therefore been seen as a mechanism to promote parental support of children for this extended time period. It generally refers to a "pure," ideal type of love, rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. Commitment, on the other hand, is the expectation that the relationship is permanent. The corresponding noun diligentia, however, has the meaning of "diligence" or "carefulness," and has little semantic overlap with the verb. [21] In this sense, Fromm held that love is ultimately not a feeling at all, but rather is a commitment to, and adherence to, loving actions towards another, oneself, or many others, over a sustained duration. Lastly, consummate love includes all three components. [21] Fromm also described love as a conscious choice that in its early stages might originate as an involuntary feeling, but which then later no longer depends on those feelings, but rather depends only on conscious commitment. Practitioners of Sufism believe that love is a projection of the essence of God to the universe. This mentality created a vision of strongly defined gender roles, which provoked the advancement of the free love movement as a contrast. Agape ( agp) means love in modern-day Greek. Mosaic Law would hold Deuteronomy 22:22-24 "If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall diethe man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. Whats love got to do with it? Later in Chinese Buddhism, the term Ai () was adopted to refer to a passionate, caring love and was considered a fundamental desire. It is complementary to wisdom and is necessary for enlightenment. Ancient Greeks identified four forms of love: kinship or familiarity (in Greek, storge), friendship and/or platonic desire (philia), sexual and/or romantic desire (eros), and self-emptying or divine love (agape).
Although the nature or essence of love is a subject of frequent debate, different aspects of the word can be clarified by determining what isn't love (antonyms of "love"). First, love leading to sexual reproduction facilitates repair of damages in the DNA that is passed from parent to progeny (during meiosis, a key stage of the sexual process). Some Western authorities disaggregate into two main components, the altruistic and the narcissistic. The importance of this can be seen throughout Greek mythologyin particular, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Passionate love is shown in infatuation as well as romantic love. Amongst the 99 names of God (Allah), there is the name Al-Wadud, or "the Loving One," which is found in Surah [ 11:90] as well as Surah [ 85:14]. Ishq, or divine love, is the emphasis of Sufism in the Islamic tradition. Attraction is the more individualized and romantic desire for a specific candidate for mating, which develops out of lust as commitment to an individual mate forms. "[55] And so, in the analysis of a Catholic theologian, for Pope Francis, "the key to loveis not our activity. At the same time, the Ancient Greek text of the Bible has examples of the verb agapo having the same meaning as phileo. Saint Augustine summarized this when he wrote "Love God, and do as thou wilt.
[25] Enzo Emanuele and coworkers reported the protein molecule known as the nerve growth factor (NGF) has high levels when people first fall in love, but these return to previous levels after one year. [43] The term's origins come from the concept of lonely solitude as a result of separation from a loved one. It was an almost ritualized friendship formed between a host and his guest, who could previously have been strangers. [51], Pope Francis taught that "True love is both loving and letting oneself be lovedwhat is important in love is not our loving, but allowing ourselves to be loved by God. , W i n, or "I love you") and a noun (such as iqng, or "romantic love"). Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. [25], Since the lust and attraction stages are both considered temporary, a third stage is needed to account for long-term relationships. This view is represented in the works of Scott Peck, whose work in the field of applied psychology explored the definitions of love and evil. Certainly, love is influenced by hormones (such as oxytocin), neurotrophins (such as NGF), and pheromones, and how people think and behave in love is influenced by their conceptions of love. [31] In combination, love is an activity, not simply a feeling. As for love between marital partners, this is deemed an essential ingredient to life: "See life with the wife you love" (Ecclesiastes 9:9). If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? The triangular theory of love suggests "intimacy, passion and commitment" are core components of love. Eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth.
Psychologist Erich Fromm maintained in his book The Art of Loving that love is not merely a feeling but is also actions, and that in fact, the "feeling" of love is superficial in comparison to one's commitment to love via a series of loving actions over time. In addition to cross-cultural differences in understanding love, ideas about love have also changed greatly over time.