The term “Love” conjures up several different images. Western authorities have dissected it into its two main components: activity and concern for spiritual growth. A closer look at love’s characteristics reveals that it has many facets. For example, love can involve affection, selfsacrifice, and even narcissism. However, the experience of Love is much deeper than that.
Read on to learn more about the emotion of love.
Love as an emotion
There are two widely held theories of love: the basic theory and the emotion complex view. The former holds that love is an emotion but is too complex to be reduced to a single concept. It emphasizes historical patterns of emotional responsiveness and projects them into the future. The latter theory holds that love is a disposition. In other words, love has no specific physical instantiation or cause and is not reducible to propositional attitudes or judgments.
It is an enacted emotion
Although the term “love” is usually defined as an intense feeling of deep affection, it is an enacted emotion. Although love has many definitions, the most common is an emotional attachment to a person. Love is expressed in a variety of ways, including caring, sharing, and making others happy. Whether it is a romantic relationship, a friendship, or simply sharing a common interest, love is a deep, meaningful emotion that should be expressed through words and actions.
It involves affection, compassion, care, and self-sacrifice
The concept of love is one of the most basic principles of human relationships. This emotion is expressed by actions such as sacrificial love, which is defined as “compassionate care for another person at the expense of one’s own needs”. It is rooted in the Triune Godhead, in the eternal relationship between Father, Son, and adult content creator platform. This emotion is unique to the human experience as an image bearer of God. Although one may love his/her spouse unconditionally, the dog will not love the owner.
It is an experience beyond self
Love is the awareness of being One with Self, the source of all experience. There is no separation between the Self and the world, and all experience is intimately connected to the Source of Being. It is this experience of Oneness that enables us to experience God, which is the source of all life. We can never know God and experience peace if we remain separated.
Rather, we must realize that Love is our experience of Being One.
It is a choice
The feeling of love does not last, while a decision to love someone does. We must make a decision and act on it if we want to have the same feeling forever. When we choose love, we must let go of our wants in order to be with the person we love. While love can be a temporary emotion, it must mature into true love in order to last a lifetime. Love is a choice, just like food. It requires will power and consistency to sustain the relationship.
It is biologically programmed
The complex process of love is largely determined by our brains. The amygdala, a threatdetection center, fires when we perceive danger or risk, but when we are in love, our amygdala is shut off, allowing the frontal lobe to rest. Because of this, our brains have trouble detecting threats and judging what actions will have long-term consequences. Consequently, we often make poor decisions because of our inability to make sound judgment.
It is culturally indoctrinated
The underlying concern in philosophical debates about indoctrination is whether indoctrination is a necessary or sufficient condition for knowledge. Philosophers have traditionally identified four supplementary criteria for indoctrination, which include the methods used to teach beliefs, the content taught, and the pupils’ beliefs as a result of indoctrination. But three of the four criteria are not necessary for indoctrination.