...The word "love" can have a variety of related but distinct meanings in different contexts. Often, other languages use multiple words to express some of the different concepts that English relies mainly on "love" to encapsulate; one example is the plurality of Greek words for "love." Cultural differences in conceptualizing love thus make it doubly difficult to establish any universal definition.[10] 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. As a general expression of positive sentiment (a stronger form of like), love 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; and as an interpersonal relationship with romantic overtones, love is sometimes contrasted with friendship, although the word love is often applied to close friendships. Fraternal love (Prehispanic sculpture from 250–900 A.D., of Huastec origin). Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.When discussed in the abstract, love usually refers to interpersonal love, an experience felt by a person 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...
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...Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment.[1] In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels.[2] Love may also be described as actions towards others (or oneself) based on compassion.[3] Or as actions towards others based on affection.[3] In English, the word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my partner"). "Love" can also refer specifically to the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love, to the sexual love of eros (cf. Greek words for love), to the emotional closeness of familial love, or to the platonic love that defines friendship,[4] to the profound oneness or devotion of religious love. [5] This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states. Love in its various forms 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. Science defines what could be understood as love as an evolved state of the survival instinct, primarily used to keep human beings together against menaces and to facilitate...
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...People have two major organs, the heart and the brain. When dealing with love, we have to follow your heart, because even though it’s on the left side of the body, it’s always right. However, people often make the mistake of confusing “lust” with “love”. We often think we are in love with something or someone we know we can never have, but it is just lust. What is love? Love has multiple meanings. Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. Love is a person or thing that one loves. Love is a feeling of a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone. Love is also a four letter word that is constantly tossed around like a game. Someone will experience “real” love and be in love. However, there is a difference between lust and love. Webster defines love as an “attraction that includes sexual desire: the strong affection felt by people who have a romantic relationship.” 1 Corinthians 13 defines love as “and now abideth faith, hope, love, and these three: but the greatest of these is love.” Lust is something like being a friend, but we aren’t in a relationship. Lust is beyond a friend level, but less than a relationship. We often lust over superstars, because we can’t have celebrities. Lust can be friends with benefits. Lust is more of a physical attraction and has no lasting effect. Lust can be very selfish. “Passion, greed, covetousness, hatred, lust: these emotions dominate the soul, causing blindness and leading to...
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...n examining relationships, it is important to first define terminology typically associated with romance and relationships. Let us begin by defining a relationship as it stands in the dictionary. A relationship is a: 1) "romantic or passionate attachment" or 2) "the state of being related or interrelated". From this dry definition it may be concluded that a relationship may be a binding of more than one person of a friendly flavor or of romantic flavor. Becoming more specific, Webster�s Online Dictionary defines friendship as "the state of being attached to another by affection or esteem". Also friendship may be defined as "the favored companionship of people". Again this definition relates the ideas that friendship is a type of relationship in which people choose to relate because of favor or some sort of preferred attachment. Interesting is the fact that Webster�s definition links friendship with affection and self-esteem, leading the way into our inference that dating is a higher level of having a friendship with more affection. Dating is explained as to accompany, escort; court, woo another. Long-term relationships are usually considered to be a balance of dating and courting depending on the couple. The dictionary definition of courting is "to engage in social activities leading to engagement and marriage". Obviously, courting (albeit a somewhat old-fashioned and less used term) is yet a further advanced level of dating and hence a relationship. Courting appears to be reserved...
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...but the highest of those is love. Although love has been an elusive topic; it is a word that most well-known biologists, philosophers and psychologists have been seeking to define for centuries. Wars have been raged and fought because of it, friendships have been started and ended due to it and many romantic relationships have been intiated and depleted because of this four letter word. What exactly is love and why does it seem so radically important to obtain? In order to better understand and define love, research articles and surveys were examined to better clarify the question of “what does love have to do with it?”. Many of the articles researched involve the neuroscience of the brain which will further clarify the question of whether men and women use their hearts to fall in love or whether they are set-up to act on a process made in the brain? The progression by which men and women transform their “fairy tale” mindset and distinguish the movement into what a realistic long-lasting loving relationship, has scientifically been proven to be vastly different. I will use two major research strategies: (1) a qualitative research method of the feasibility of how the body reacts to falling in love amoungst both the male and the female sexes and (2) surveying of how men and women vary differently when it comes to love and the art of being in love. The theory of love has been studied throughout history. Questions of “what is love” and “what love has to do with it” has been...
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...III Introduction “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person” –Mignon Mclaughlin The above quotation by Mignon Mclaughlin says that for a marriage to be successful, it requires falling in love many times with the same person we are married to. My topic is about “fixed or arranged marriage” being better than the usual marriage in which both falls in love first before entering into a union or marriage. For us to be able to determine whether or not fixed marriage is successful or not, we should first define what marriage is. Marriage is define as a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. The definition of marriage varies according to different cultures, but it is principally an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged. Today many people prefer “love first before marriage” than the traditional “fixed or arranged marriages”. No one could tell which of the two types of marriages is better or which of them is likely to be successful, because both sometimes tend to be a success and both sometimes seems to be a failure. This paper would like the readers to understand that, “fixed or arranged marriage” is better than the “love first before marriage” type of marriage by giving some examples from real life stories and by giving...
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...In Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” there was one theme that was consistent throughout the whole story. It is that not one of the four characters of the story could explain what love is. Each character in the story each had their own ideas to what they wanted love to be but not what it actually was. Whether it was suicidal love, abusive love, or just physical love, each person in the story held fast to what they believed love to be, even if they could not explain why. One of the main characters, Mel, attempts time and again to identify the meaning of love, but he never forms any clear conclusion. Each time he is about to say something important he gets sidetrack or forgets for a little while what he was about to say. For example, he tells a story about an old couple who almost die in a car crash, but half way through he gets distracted. When he finally gets to the conclusion of the story—the old man miserable because he could not see his wife—confuses the others. When he tells everyone that he will explain what exactly love is, he instead strays into a jumbled reflection about how it is bizarre that he and the others have been in love repeatedly. His efforts to illuminate the nature of love tapers off into a bitter lecture against his ex-wife. He spends a lot of his time saying what love is not and not saying what it actual is.In the story Mel says “There was a time when I thought I loved my first wife more than life itself. But now I hate her guts...
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...the ability of a person to fully sustain their uniqueness and independence in their full extent whilst being in love. By entering into a relationship, both parties will do so for personal gain and pleasure, but simultaneously the union of two people results. Romantic love causes the limitation of one’s individuality in important decisions that pertain to both of them, yet, regular decisions that don’t affect them simultaneously can still able to be made individually. While choices throughout life are constantly influenced by a person’s surroundings, the person with whom you are in love will ultimately be the one who has the greatest impact on your autonomy. The Greek terminologies to describe love between people include ‘eros’ translated as sexual, passionate or romantic love and ‘philia’ translated as the love within friendship between others (Halwani, 2010). Since romantic love is an emotion, it is difficult to define as the reason for love because it constantly changes; both circumstances as well as reasons for attractions differ (Halwani, 2010). W. Newton-Smith, therefore explains that a sexual dimension is a generally necessary feature of romantic love, as this appears to be constant. In addition, a necessary feature of romantic love, as well as any love, is the concern over the contentment and welfare of the beloved. Other features Halwani includes are love between two people that is reciprocated, strong emotions and desires between lovers, resulting in marriage and procreation...
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...Duffy and Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare present two people’s ideas of love, and this is reflected in their relationships in which they depict. In Hour, a man describes how every moment with his lover is precious, and how he has overcome the hindrance of time. In Sonnet 116, the poetic voice attempts to define love in its most perfect form, by telling both what it is and what it is not. In both cases, the male speakers attempt to illustrate true love. Time is referred to in both poems as contradictory to love; however both relationships conquer time. In Hour, “Time hates love, wants love poor, but love spins gold, gold, gold from straw”. Duffy personifies time and love here as being enemies. The Love described is so strong that each moment lingers; it steals time, as the world slows down around them when they are together. Love overpowers time, as it is not susceptible to it; even if it is only for a short while, and “time hates” this, as it is usually in control. There is a reference to wealth throughout the poem, linking the great value of his lover to the great value of money, wealth. You cannot do anything in this world without money, and the lovers cannot do anything in this world without each other. Therefore, time “wants love poor”. It wants to devalue their relationship to stop them from profiting in love, so time is able to remain omnipotent. However “love spins gold, gold, gold from straw”. Love is precious and can change something worthless, no relationship, into something...
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...What is Family? When asked, what defines a family, the normal response is, mom, dad, and child. According to Webster, “family is defined as a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household, all descendants of a common ancestor.” I do believe this to be an 2group of people who are not related by marriage or blood, but people that genuinely love, care and respect each other. I have a special group of lady friends and we call ourselves the “crew.” Every year, we plan a vacation and go away together. We plan various activities, dinner outings and special bonding time. We display our love for one another by hugging and saying I loveyou. We pray together. There is absolutely no way these ladies aren’t my family. No, they are not related to me by blood, but we are there for each other no matter what, whenever there is a need. So, family is way beyond a mom, dad and child; it consist of individuals that love and care for each other whether they are related by blood or not, and about spending quality time with each other and developing relationships. If parents would spend more time bonding with their children, I think we would have a lot more strong loving families in the world. We would see less news reports of children killing parents or parents killing children. By bonding with each other, you develop respect and love for each other. Bonding, as Webster defines “as the formation of a close relationship, as between friends, the emotional and...
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...states continuously that he was not yet in love, but was in love with love. This statement doesn't make sense to me. I don't believe that someone can be in love with something, if he or she doesn't understand what love is. "I was not yet in love, but I was in love with love, and from the very depth of my need hated myself for not more keenly feeling the need." (pg. 35) How can Augustine hate himself if he doesn't know what loves feel like? I think a lot of Augustine's statements about love are interesting. Augustine has some very good points about love, but he contradicts himself also. Is Augustine saying he wasn't in love or he doesn't understand love? Both of these statements make me wonder how can he be in love with love, if he isn't in love. After stating this, Augustine continues to support his statement by talking about friendship. Is the friendship Augustine mentions lustful or sincerely about love? "Thus I polluted the stream of friendship with the filth of unclean desire and sullied its limpidity with the hell of lust." (pg. 35) Obviously Augustine is letting the idea of love turn straight to lust. He talks about unclean desires, but he says he wants to be clean and courtly. Maybe Augustine has the wrong idea about love. Love is when you care deeply about someone and will do anything for them. Thinking about sexual desires and physical attractions are defining lustful ideas. Is Augustine talking about different kinds of love? Augustine states that he wants to be forgiven...
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...Victoria Britos, Introduction to Literature Does time defeat love? Answer with reference to the Shakespeare’s sonnets read in class. Does the passing of time make love weaker or stronger? In Shakespeare´s sonnets Love does not have a single definition, but rather an intangible collection of characteristics. Together they create a powerful force, which seems to defeat all obstacles. The aim of this essay is to identify how Shakespeare uses nature, human physical appearance and irony throughout sonnet 116, in order to define love as an overwhelming force, that triumphs over time. In sonnet 116 Shakespeare uses imagery and metaphors from nature to represent both, what love is and what it is not. He presents a metaphor saying that love “looks on tempests and is never shaken”. The speaker tries to represent in our minds that real love is present in spite of harsh situations. When we really do love someone, it is possible to get through hard times. These bad situations, can work as experiences which make our love become stronger and thus help us maintain a steady relationship. Moreover, the speaker says that love “… is the star to every wandering bark”. The star makes reference to the “pole star” which was used to help navigators find their right way home. We can interpret these words by saying that when we are going through a bad situation love leads us to the right path. On the other hand, the speaker explains what love is not by saying “Let me not the marriage of true minds admit...
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...Love in Ancient Times Defining Love in Ancient Civilizations [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] The ancient Greeks and Romans seemed to have a very different outlook on love then we do in modern western civilization, specifically their views about who can be in love, or what is considered expectable behavior in popular culture. When looking for what it means to love in ancient Greece it is hard to find any information that does not have their beliefs on homosexuality. I’m not sure what love has to do with being heterosexual or homosexual, but I will try to explain love in ancient Greece despite this setback. Love is generally defined as devotion or great caring for an individual or a specific task or object. It can be have so many different meanings it is very difficult to narrow it down to one singular meaning. Love meens so many different things to so many different people. How do you avoid confusing it with infatuation or lust? Philosophers and psychologists both have attempted to define love, per least its difference from infatuation and lust. If you are looking to find love, the following observations may be helpful. Love is much more than a risk, but is a risk that one can take and grasp and fall into a dark abyss or dig oneself a hole and only crawl back when you...
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...I believe that definition of love varies for different people. So this is what I am going to define it as in this essay. Love is a friendship that has caught fire. It takes root and grows, one day at a time. With that being said for this essay I will define Infatuation as a foolish and usually extravagant passion or love or admiration. The tension from these two words comes from the poem A Woman Killed With Kindness One. The two words has tension in this poem because it is hard to tell weither he is feeling love or infatuation. For us to fully understand which one he is feeling, I will discuss in this essay the differnces between love and infatuation. Then will explain which one I believe he's in this essay. I will begin with talking about infatuation. The main thing that I would like to begin with is infautuation is selfish. The only thing that, that person is trying to do is fulfill that lust and desire for themselves, not matter if the feelings that the other person has differs from theres. Its a selfish unctrollable desire. It's bassically a reckless commitment to satify their needs by being with this person. For example, a part where i felt he was reckless was when he wanted her to tell her husband. "Go, tell your husband; he will turn me off, And I am then undone". The effect of infatuation is being controlled by brain chemistry, not the heart, loss of ability to make rational evaluations of what is true, valuable and worthy. The result that comes after infatuation...
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...Love is a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes that ranges from interpersonal affection ("I love my mother") to pleasure ("I loved that meal"). It can refer to an emotion of a strong attraction and personal attachment.[1] It can also be a virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—"the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another".[2] It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, one's self or animals.[3] Ancient Greeks identified four forms of love: kinship or familiarity (in Greek, storge), friendship (philia), sexual and/or romantic desire (eros), and self-emptying or divine love (agape).[4][5] Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of romantic love.[6] Non-Western traditions have also distinguished variants or symbioses of these states.[7] 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. Love in its various forms 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.[8] Love may be understood as a function to keep human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species.[9] Definitions Part of a series on Love Red line heart icon Basic aspects[show] In history[show] Types of emotion[show] ...
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