The word love has many different meanings in English, from something that gives a little pleasure ("I loved that meal") to
something one would die for (patriotism, family). It can describe an intense feeling of affection, an emotion
or an emotional state. In ordinary use, it usually refers to
interpersonal love. Probably due to its psychological relevance, love
is one of the most common themes in art and music.
Just as there are many types of lovers, there are many kinds of
love. Though love is inherent in all human cultures, cultural
differences make any universal definition difficult to establish.One definition attempting to be universally applicable is Thomas Jay Oord''s:
to love is to act intentionally, in sympathetic response to others
(including God), to promote overall well-being. This definition applies
to the positive connotations of love.Interpersonal love refers to love between human beings. It is a more potent sentiment than a simple liking for another. Unrequited love refers to those feelings of love which 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.
Some feelings that are often associated with interpersonal love:
Affection: feelings of tenderness and/or wanting physical closenessAttachment: satisfying basic emotional needsAltruism: selfless or unselfish concern for anotherReciprocation: if love is mutualCommitment: a desire to maintain loveEmotional intimacy: sharing emotions and feelingsFriendship: the spirit between friendsKinship: family bondsPassion: whole-hearted desirePhysical intimacy: sharing of intimate personal spaceSelf-interest: desiring rewardsService: desire to help
Sexuality can be an important element in determining the shape of a
relationship. While sexual attraction often establishes a new bond,
sexual intention is considered undesirable or inappropriate in certain
love bonds. In many religions and systems of ethics it is considered
wrong to act on sexual desire for immediate family, for children, or
outside of a committed relationship. However, there are many ways to
express passionate love without sex. Affection, emotional intimacy and
shared interests and experiences are common in friendships and kinships
of all human beings.
Expressions of love may include the love for a "soul" or mind, the
love of laws and organizations, love for a body, love for nature, love
of food, love of money, love for learning, love of power, love of fame,
love for the respect of others, etcetera. Different people place
varying degrees of importance on the kinds of love they receive.
According to philosophers, the only goal of life is to be happy. And
there is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved. Love is
essentially an abstract concept, much easier to experience than to
explain.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 by which two people can share secrets and various details of
their personal lives. Intimacy is usually shown in friendships and
romantic love affairs. Commitment, on the other hand, is the
expectation that the relationship is going to last forever. The last
and most common form of love is sexual attraction and passion.
Passionate love is shown in infatuation as well as romantic love.
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 peolike 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 which 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 works 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.