Love is a complex emotional state, not reducible to its simplest aspects, and can be considered separate from other personal attitudes, such as eros, affection, and self-worth. The term ‘infatuation’ is sometimes applied to this state, but this concept can also refer to relationships that do not involve sexual intimacy. Such relationships may be considered akin to “addictions,” but they are not. Love is not a disease, as some researchers assert.
To be truly in love, the person you’re infatuated with must be comfortable with you. In addition to being physically attracted to each other, you’ll feel safe around each other, and you’ll want to make out on the couch with them. Moreover, things you did before become new, exciting, or exciting. Even home team games become exciting if you’re with your new beau. A relationship with love is like a snowball – it changes you from the inside out and makes everything in it seem brand-new.
According to a survey, love exists in four different types. Erotic love is focused on physical attraction and sex, and is often described as the most extreme of the two. However, this type of love is not committed and advocates often feel comfortable ending a relationship. On the other hand, storge love is more mature and is usually defined as mutually beneficial and relieving. Love in this form is characterized by the shared interest of the people involved, and the absence of self-seeking and dependency.
Studies in neuroscience have shown that people in love display an increase in activity in the reward areas of the brain when they view a photograph of their preferred partner. The ventral tegmental area and caudate nucleus are the areas that light up when we’re in love. On the other hand, people who feel uncomfortable with close intimacy do not endorse mania or eros love. Those with high levels of dark traits tend to be more likely to endorse the darkest forms of love – ludus and pragma.
Despite the different types of love, contemporary philosophers often blur the distinction between the three different types of love. For example, the first kind of love is the kind that is reciprocal and is shared between friends or family members. Agape, on the other hand, is based on self-worth and not on love. This kind of love is also described as divine love. However, the definitions and types of love are not always clear in the ancient world.
This first view of love is most consistent with our understanding of the nature of love. While the bestowal view is less restrictive and often carries a kernel of truth, it does not capture the creative nature of love. Love is an expression of the creative process and does not respond to an antecedent value. This means that an account of love that understands evaluation in terms of appraisal is missing something essential. This kind of understanding, however, is the best account of love.
