From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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 for food.
Most commonly, love refers to a feeling of a strong attraction and
emotional
attachment.
Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection, as "the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another" and its vice representing human moral flaw, akin to vanity, selfishness, amour-propre, and egotism, as potentially leading people into a type of mania, obsessiveness or codependency. It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, one's self, or animals. 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. Love has been postulated to be a function that keeps human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species.
Ancient Greek philosophers identified six forms of love: essentially, familial love (in Greek, Storge), friendly love or platonic love (Philia), romantic love (Eros), self-love (Philautia), guest love (Xenia), and divine love (Agape). Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of love: unrequited love, empty love, companionate love, consummate love, infatuated love, self-love, and courtly love. Numerous cultures have also distinguished Ren, Yuanfen, Mamihlapinatapai, Cafuné, Kama, Bhakti, Mettā, Ishq, Chesed, Amore, Charity, Saudade (and other variants or symbioses of these states),
as culturally unique words, definitions, or expressions of love in
regards to a specified "moments" currently lacking in the English
language.
Scientific research on emotion has increased significantly over the past two decades. 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
Romeo and Juliet, depicted as they part on the balcony in Act III, 1867 by
Ford Madox Brown 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) . Cultural differences in conceptualizing love thus doubly impede the establishment of a universal definition.
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"). 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 "girlfriend", "boyfriend", "just
good friends").
Abstractly discussed, love
usually refers to an experience one person feels for another. 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.
The complex and abstract nature of love often reduces discourse of love 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." Bertrand Russell describes love as a condition of "absolute value," as opposed to relative value. Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz said that love is "to be delighted by the happiness of another." 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." Biologist Jeremy Griffith defines love as "unconditional selflessness".
Impersonal
People can be said to love an object, principle, or goal to which
they are deeply committed and greatly value. 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.
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.
Interpersonal
Interpersonal love refers to love between human beings. It is a much more potent sentiment than a simple liking for a person. Unrequited love refers to those feelings of love that are not reciprocated. Interpersonal love is most closely associated with Interpersonal relationships.
Such love might exist between family members, friends, and couples.
There are also a number of psychological disorders related to love, such
as erotomania.
Throughout history, philosophy and religion have done the most
speculation on the phenomenon of love. In the 20th century, the science
of psychology has written a great deal on the subject. In recent years, the sciences of psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, and biology have added to the understanding of the concept of love.
Biological basis
Biological models of sex tend to view love as a mammalian drive, much like hunger or thirst. Helen Fisher,
an anthropologist and human behavior researcher, divides the experience
of love into three partly overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and
attachment. 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.
Three distinct neural circuitries, including neurotransmitters, and
three behavioral patterns, are associated with these three romantic
styles.
Pair of Lovers. 1480–1485
Lust is the initial passionate sexual desire that promotes mating, and involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen. These effects rarely last more than a few weeks or months. 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. Recent studies in neuroscience have indicated that as people fall in love, the brain consistently releases a certain set of chemicals, including the neurotransmitter hormones, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, the same compounds released by amphetamine, stimulating the brain's pleasure center and leading to side effects such as increased heart rate, loss of appetite and sleep, and an intense feeling of excitement. Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years.
Since the lust and attraction stages are both considered
temporary, a third stage is needed to account for long-term
relationships. Attachment is the bonding
that promotes relationships lasting for many years and even decades.
Attachment is generally based on commitments such as marriage and
children, or mutual friendship based on things like shared interests. It
has been linked to higher levels of the chemicals oxytocin and vasopressin to a greater degree than short-term relationships have. 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.
Psychological basis
Psychology depicts love as a cognitive and social phenomenon. Psychologist Robert Sternberg formulated a triangular theory of love
and argued that love has three different components: intimacy,
commitment, and passion. 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. Commitment, on the other
hand, is the expectation that the relationship is permanent. The last
form of love is sexual attraction and passion. Passionate love is shown
in infatuation as well as romantic love. All forms of love are viewed as
varying combinations of these three components. Non-love does not
include any of these components. Liking only includes intimacy.
Infatuated love only includes passion. Empty love only includes
commitment. Romantic love includes both intimacy and passion.
Companionate love includes intimacy and commitment. Fatuous love
includes passion and commitment. Lastly, consummate love includes all
three components. American psychologist Zick Rubin sought to define love by psychometrics in the 1970s. His work states that three factors constitute love: attachment, caring, and intimacy.
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". 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 personality—people tend
to like people similar to themselves. 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. In recent years, various human bonding
theories have been developed, described in terms of attachments, ties,
bonds, and affinities.
Some Western authorities disaggregate into two main components, the
altruistic and the narcissistic. 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. Peck maintains that love is a
combination of the "concern for the spiritual growth of another," and
simple narcissism. In combination, love is an activity, not simply a feeling.
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 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.
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.
Evolutionary basis
Wall of Love on
Montmartre in Paris: "I love you" in 250 languages, by calligraphist Fédéric Baron and artist Claire Kito (2000)
Evolutionary psychology
has attempted to provide various reasons for love as a survival tool.
Humans are dependent on parental help for a large portion of their
lifespans compared to other mammals. Love has therefore been seen as a
mechanism to promote parental support of children for this extended time
period. 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. Another factor may be that sexually transmitted diseases can cause, among other effects, permanently reduced fertility, injury to the fetus, and increase complications during childbirth. This would favor monogamous relationships over polygamy.
Adaptive benefit
Interpersonal love between a male and a female is considered to
provide an evolutionary adaptive benefit since it facilitates mating and
sexual reproduction. However, some organisms can reproduce asexually
without mating. Thus understanding the adaptive benefit of
interpersonal love depends on understanding the adaptive benefit of
sexual reproduction as opposed to asexual reproduction. Michod
has reviewed evidence that love, and consequently sexual reproduction,
provides two major adaptive advantages. 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). 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.
Comparison of scientific models
Biological models of love tend to see it as a mammalian drive, similar to hunger or thirst. Psychology sees love as more of a social and cultural phenomenon. 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. The conventional view in biology is that there are two major drives in love: sexual attraction and attachment.
Attachment between adults is presumed to work on the same principles
that lead an infant to become attached to its mother. The traditional
psychological view sees love as being a combination of companionate love and passionate love. Passionate love is intense longing, and is often accompanied by physiological arousal
(shortness of breath, rapid heart rate); companionate love is affection
and a feeling of intimacy not accompanied by physiological arousal.
Cultural views
Ancient Greek
Roman copy of a Greek sculpture by
Lysippus depicting
Eros, the Greek personification of romantic love
Greek distinguishes several different senses in which the word "love" is used. 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). Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of romantic love.
However, with Greek (as with many other languages), it has been
historically difficult to separate the meanings of these words totally.
At the same time, the Ancient Greek text of the Bible has examples of the verb agapo having the same meaning as phileo.
Agape (ἀγάπη agápē) means love in modern-day Greek. The term s'agapo means I love you in Greek. The word agapo is the verb I love. It generally refers to a "pure," ideal type of love, rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. It has also been translated as "love of the soul."
Eros (ἔρως érōs) (from the Greek deity Eros) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Greek word erota means in love. Plato
refined his own definition. 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. Eros
helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty and contributes to an
understanding of spiritual truth. Lovers and philosophers are all
inspired to seek truth by eros. Some translations list it as "love of
the body".
Philia (φιλία philía), a dispassionate virtuous love, was a concept addressed and developed by Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics Book VIII.
It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires
virtue, equality, and familiarity. Philia is motivated by practical
reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. It
can also mean "love of the mind."
Storge (στοργή storgē) is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring.
Xenia (ξενία xenía), hospitality, was an extremely important practice in ancient Greece.
It was an almost ritualized friendship formed between a host and his
guest, who could previously have been strangers. The host fed and
provided quarters for the guest, who was expected to repay only with
gratitude. The importance of this can be seen throughout Greek mythology—in particular, Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
Ancient Roman (Latin)
The Latin language has several different verbs corresponding to the English word "love." amō is the basic verb meaning I love, with the infinitive amare ("to love") as it still is in Italian today. The Romans used it both in an affectionate sense as well as in a romantic or sexual sense. From this verb come amans—a lover, amator, "professional lover," often with the accessory notion of lechery—and amica, "girlfriend" in the English sense, often being applied euphemistically to a prostitute. 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, Rome—in Latin: Roma—can be viewed as an anagram for amor, which was used as the secret name of the City in wide circles in ancient times), which is also used in the plural form to indicate love affairs or sexual adventures. This same root also produces amicus—"friend"—and amicitia,
"friendship" (often based to mutual advantage, and corresponding
sometimes more closely to "indebtedness" or "influence"). Cicero wrote a
treatise called On Friendship (de Amicitia), which discusses the notion at some length. Ovid wrote a guide to dating called Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), which addresses, in depth, everything from extramarital affairs to overprotective parents.
Latin sometimes uses amāre where English would simply say to like. This notion, however, is much more generally expressed in Latin by the terms placere or delectāre, which are used more colloquially, the latter used frequently in the love poetry of Catullus. Diligere
often has the notion "to be affectionate for," "to esteem," and rarely
if ever is used for romantic love. This word would be appropriate to
describe the friendship of two men. The corresponding noun diligentia, however, has the meaning of "diligence" or "carefulness," and has little semantic overlap with the verb. Observare is a synonym for diligere; despite the cognate with English, this verb and its corresponding noun, observantia, often denote "esteem" or "affection." Caritas
is used in Latin translations of the Christian Bible to mean
"charitable love"; this meaning, however, is not found in Classical
pagan Roman literature. As it arises from a conflation with a Greek word, there is no corresponding verb.
Chinese and other Sinic
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. A core concept to Confucianism is 仁 (Ren,
"benevolent love"), which focuses on duty, action, and attitude in a
relationship rather than love itself. 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.
The concept of 愛 (Mandarin: ài) was developed by the Chinese philosopher Mozi
in the 4th century BC in reaction to Confucianism's benevolent love.
Mozi tried to replace what he considered to be the long-entrenched
Chinese over-attachment to family and clan structures with the concept
of "universal love" (兼愛, jiān'ài).
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. Mozi, by contrast, believed people in principle
should care for all people equally. 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. Later in Chinese Buddhism, the term Ai (愛) was adopted to refer to a passionate, caring love and was considered a fundamental desire. In Buddhism, Ai was seen as capable of being either selfish or selfless, the latter being a key element towards enlightenment.
In Mandarin Chinese, 愛 (ài) is often used as the equivalent of the Western concept of love. 愛 (ài) is used as both a verb (e.g. 我愛你, Wǒ ài nǐ, or "I love you") and a noun (such as 愛情 àiqíng, or "romantic love"). However, due to the influence of Confucian 仁 (rén), the phrase 我愛你 (Wǒ ài nǐ,
I love you) carries with it a very specific sense of responsibility,
commitment and loyalty. 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. Consequently, "I like you" (我喜欢你, Wǒ xǐhuan nǐ) is a more common way of expressing affection in Mandarin; it is more playful and less serious. This is also true in Japanese (suki da, 好きだ).
Japanese
The Japanese language
uses three words to convey the English equivalent of "love". Because
"love" covers a wide range of emotions and behavioral phenomena, there
are nuances distinguishing the three terms. The term ai (愛), which is often associated with maternal love or selfless love, originally referred to beauty and was often used in a religious context. Following the Meiji Restoration 1868, the term became associated with "love" in order to translate Western literature. Prior to Western influence, the term koi (恋 or 孤悲) generally represented romantic love, and was often the subject of the popular Man'yōshū Japanese poetry collection. Koi describes a longing for a member of the opposite sex and is typically interpreted as selfish and wanting. The term's origins come from the concept of lonely solitude as a result of separation from a loved one. Though modern usage of koi
focuses on sexual love and infatuation, the Manyō used the term to
cover a wider range of situations, including tenderness, benevolence,
and material desire. The third term, ren'ai (恋愛), 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. Amae (甘え),
referring to the desire to be loved and cared for by an authority
figure, is another important aspect of Japan's cultural perspective on
love, and has been analysed in detail in Takeo Doi's The Anatomy of Dependence
Indian
The love stories of the Hindu deities
Krishna and
Radha have influenced the Indian culture and arts. Above: Radha Madhavam by
Raja Ravi Varma.
In contemporary literature, the Sanskrit words for love is "sneha". Other terms such as Priya refers to innocent love, Prema refers to spiritual love, and Kama refers usually to sexual desire.
However, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional
attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music,
painting, sculpture and nature.
The concept of kama is found in some of the earliest known verses in Vedas.
For example, Book 10 of Rig Veda describes the creation of the universe
from nothing by the great heat. There in hymn 129, it states:
कामस्तदग्रे समवर्तताधि मनसो रेतः परथमं यदासीत |
सतो बन्धुमसति निरविन्दन हर्दि परतीष्याकवयो मनीषा ||
Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire the primal seed and germ of Spirit,
Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the existent's kinship in the non-existent.
Persian
The children of Adam are limbs of one body
Having been created of one essence.
When the calamity of time afflicts one limb
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others
You are not worthy to be called by the name of "man".
Sa'di, Gulistan
Rumi, Hafiz, and Sa'di are icons of the passion and love that the Persian culture and language present.[citation needed] The Persian word for love is Ishq, which is derived from Arabic
language; however, it is considered by most to be too stalwart a term
for interpersonal love and is more commonly substituted for "doost
dashtan" ("liking").
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.
Religious views
Abrahamic
Judaism
In Hebrew, אהבה (ahava) is the most commonly used term for both interpersonal love and love between God and God's creations. Chesed, often translated as loving-kindness, is used to describe many forms of love between human beings.
The commandment to love other people is given in the Torah, which states, "Love your neighbor like yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). 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). Rabbinic literature differs as to how this love can be developed, e.g., by contemplating divine deeds or witnessing the marvels of nature.
As for love between marital partners, this is deemed an essential ingredient to life: "See life with the wife you love" (Ecclesiastes 9:9). Rabbi David Wolpe
writes that "...love is not only about the feelings of the lover...It
is when one person believes in another person and shows it." He further
states that "...love...is a feeling that expresses itself in action.
What we really feel is reflected in what we do." The biblical book Song of Solomon is considered a romantically phrased metaphor of love between God and his people, but in its plain reading, reads like a love song. 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. 1).
Christianity
Love and not a one-way street in romanticism
The Christian understanding is that love comes from God, who is himself Love (1 Jn 4:8). The love of man and woman—eros in Greek—and the unselfish love of others (agape), are often contrasted as "descending" and "ascending" love, respectively, but are ultimately the same thing.
There are several Greek words for "love" that are regularly referred to in Christian circles.
- Agape: In the New Testament, agapē
is charitable, selfless, altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental
love, seen as creating goodness in the world; it is the way God is seen
to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Christians
aspire to have for one another.
- Phileo: Also used in the New Testament, phileo is a human response to something that is found to be delightful. Also known as "brotherly love."
- Two other words for love in the Greek language, eros (sexual love) and storge (child-to-parent love), were never used in the New Testament.
Christians believe that to Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself are the two most important things in life (the greatest commandment of the Jewish Torah, according to Jesus; cf. Gospel of Mark chapter 12, verses 28–34). Saint Augustine summarized this when he wrote "Love God, and do as thou wilt."
The Apostle Paul glorified love as the most important virtue of all. Describing love in the famous poetic interpretation in 1 Corinthians,
he wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is
not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight
in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, and always perseveres."
The Apostle John
wrote, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through him." (John
3:16–17, NIV) John also wrote, "Dear friends, let us love one another
for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and
knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is
love."
Saint Augustine
wrote that one must be able to decipher the difference between love and
lust. Lust, according to Saint Augustine, is an overindulgence, but to
love and be loved is what he has sought for his entire life. He even
says, "I was in love with love." Finally, he does fall in love and is
loved back, by God. 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." According to
Saint Augustine, to love God is "to attain the peace which is yours."
(Saint Augustine's Confessions)
Augustine regards the duplex commandment of love in Matthew 22 as
the heart of Christian faith and the interpretation of the Bible. After
the review of Christian doctrine, Augustine treats the problem of love
in terms of use and enjoyment until the end of Book I of De Doctrina Christiana (1.22.21–1.40.44;).
Christian theologians
see God as the source of love, which is mirrored in humans and their
own loving relationships. Influential Christian theologian C. S. Lewis wrote a book called The Four Loves. Benedict XVI named his first encyclical God is love.
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).
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.
Pope Francis
taught that "True love is both loving and letting oneself be
loved...what is important in love is not our loving, but allowing
ourselves to be loved by God."
And so, in the analysis of a Catholic theologian, for Pope Francis,
"the key to love...is not our activity. It is the activity of the
greatest, and the source, of all the powers in the universe: God's."
In Christianity the practical definition of love is summarised by Thomas Aquinas, who defined love as "to will the good of another," or to desire for another to succeed.
This is an explanation of the Christian need to love others, including
their enemies. As Thomas Aquinas explains, Christian love is motivated
by the need to see others succeed in life, to be good people.
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.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He
causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what
reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if
you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do
not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father
is perfect."
Do not forget to love with forgiveness, Christ saved an
adulterous woman from those who would stone her. A world of wronged
hypocrites needs forgiving love. 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 die—the man that lay with the woman, and the
woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. 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."
Tertullian
wrote regarding love for enemies: "Our individual, extraordinary, and
perfect goodness consists in loving our enemies. To love one's friends
is common practice, to love one's enemies only among Christians."
Islam
In Islam, one of the 99 names of God is Al-Wadūd, which means "The Loving"
Love encompasses the Islamic view of life as universal brotherhood
that applies to all who hold faith. 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]. 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. The Qur'an
refers to God as being "full of loving kindness."
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]. Birr is also used by the Qur'an in describing the love and kindness that children must show to their parents.
Ishq, or divine love, is the emphasis of Sufism
in the Islamic tradition. Practitioners of Sufism believe that love is a
projection of the essence of God to the universe. 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. Since everything is a
reflection of God, the school of Sufism practices seeing the beauty
inside the apparently ugly. Sufism is often referred to as the religion
of love.
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. A common viewpoint of Sufism is that through love,
humankind can get back to its inherent purity and grace. 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.
Bahá'í Faith
In his Paris Talks, `Abdu'l-Bahá
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.
Dharmic
Buddhism
In Buddhism, Kāma is sensuous, sexual love. It is an obstacle on the path to enlightenment, since it is selfish. Karuṇā
is compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others. It is
complementary to wisdom and is necessary for enlightenment. Adveṣa and mettā
are benevolent love. This love is unconditional and requires
considerable self-acceptance. This is quite different from ordinary
love, which is usually about attachment and sex and which rarely occurs
without self-interest. Instead, in Buddhism it refers to detachment and
unselfish interest in others' welfare.
The Bodhisattva ideal in Mahayana Buddhism involves the complete renunciation of oneself in order to take on the burden of a suffering world.
Hinduism
In Hinduism, kāma is pleasurable, sexual love, personified by the god Kamadeva. For many Hindu schools, it is the third end (Kama) in life. Kamadeva is often pictured holding a bow of sugar cane and an arrow of flowers; he may ride upon a great parrot. He is usually accompanied by his consort Rati
and his companion Vasanta, lord of the spring season. Stone images of
Kamadeva and Rati can be seen on the door of the Chennakeshava temple at
Belur, in Karnataka, India. Maara is another name for kāma.
In contrast to kāma, prema – or prem – refers to elevated love. Karuna is compassion and mercy, which impels one to help reduce the suffering of others. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term, meaning "loving devotion to the supreme God." A person who practices bhakti is called a bhakta. Hindu writers, theologians, and philosophers have distinguished nine forms of bhakti, which can be found in the Bhagavata Purana and works by Tulsidas. The philosophical work Narada Bhakti Sutras, written by an unknown author (presumed to be Narada), distinguishes eleven forms of love.
In certain Vaishnava sects within Hinduism, attaining
unadulterated, unconditional and incessant love for Godhead is
considered the foremost goal of life. 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.
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. Gaudiya Vaishnavas consider that Krishna-prema
(Love for Godhead) is not fire but that it still burns away one's
material desires. They consider that Kṛṣṇa-prema is not a weapon, but it
still pierces the heart. It is not water, but it washes away
everything—one's pride, religious rules, and one's shyness.
Krishna-prema is considered to make one drown in the ocean of
transcendental ecstasy and pleasure. The love of Radha, a cowherd girl,
for Krishna is often cited as the supreme example of love for Godhead by
Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Radha is considered to be the internal potency of
Krishna, and is the supreme lover of Godhead. 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. The reciprocal love between Radha (the supreme lover)
and Krishna (God as the Supremely Loved) is the subject of many poetic
compositions in India such as the Gita Govinda and Hari Bhakti Shuddhodhaya.
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).
Being perfectly in love with God or Krishna makes one perfectly free
from material contamination. and this is the ultimate way of salvation
or liberation. In this tradition, salvation or liberation is considered
inferior to love, and just an incidental by-product. Being absorbed in
Love for God is considered to be the perfection of life.
Political views
Free love
The term "free love" has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage,
which is seen as a form of social bondage. The free love movement's
initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as
marriage, birth control, and adultery. It claimed that such issues were the concern of the people involved, and no one else.
Many people in the early 19th century believed that marriage was
an important aspect of life to "fulfill earthly human happiness."
Middle-class Americans wanted the home to be a place of stability in an
uncertain world. This mentality created a vision of strongly defined
gender roles, which provoked the advancement of the free love movement
as a contrast.
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. These are also beliefs of feminism.
Philosophical views
The philosophy of love is a field of social philosophy and ethics that attempts to explain the nature of love.
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.
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