Is Love Truly Real? Perspectives from Science and Society

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the nature of love, questioning its reality and definitions from both scientific and societal perspectives. Participants share personal experiences, definitions, and emotional responses related to love, touching on its chemical basis, romantic ideals, and emotional impacts.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants assert that love is real, citing personal experiences of deepening relationships and emotional rediscovery.
  • Others argue that love is merely a chemical state in the brain, reducing it to hormonal reactions without romantic significance.
  • A participant compares the appreciation of love to that of favorite ice cream, suggesting that its identification with brain chemistry does not negate its reality.
  • Some express skepticism about love's existence, claiming it leads to excessive emotionality and questioning its validity as a genuine feeling.
  • There are discussions about the distinction between romantic love and other forms of love, with references to societal portrayals and personal definitions.
  • One participant suggests that love may serve a biological purpose related to breeding, while others differentiate between love and lust, proposing that love may involve deeper emotional bonds.
  • Participants mention the complexity of love, with some defining it as a strong affection that includes commitment, while others emphasize its fleeting nature.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the nature of love, with multiple competing views remaining. Some affirm its reality based on personal experience, while others challenge its validity, leading to an ongoing debate.

Contextual Notes

Definitions of love vary significantly among participants, with some focusing on emotional and relational aspects, while others emphasize biological and chemical interpretations. The discussion includes references to cultural representations of love, which may influence participants' views.

Carly
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"Do you feel love is real?"

I was listening to the Smashing Pumpkins' songs today and one of the lyrics was "Do you feel love is real?"
I was just wondering what your views on love were because I know people think of love in different ways.
...plus its Valentine's Day soon
 
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Love is absolutely real. Every time I have entered in a relationship deeper and more successful than my last, I have "rediscovered" love to be more than I had previously suspected.

What I have so far discerned is that you cannot love two people in the quite the same way -- the word "love" really gets redefined again and again with each new relationship. If anything, that's evidence of love's reality to me.

- Warren
 
Its a matter of definition really. Is love what hallmark would like you to believe? No, that's a load of bull. Is love in the "romantic" sense real? No.

Its a set of chemical states in the brain. Nothing more. A hormonal reaction to certain stimulus. Thats all.
 
The taste of my favorite ice cream is also just a chemical state in my brain, but that doesn't diminish my appreciation of it.

Besides, Carly asked if we felt that love is real. If "love" can be identified with a discernable chemical state in the brain, then it's most certainly as real as that discernable chemical state.

- Warren
 
Oh, what a question! Of course it is! Regardless of what is causing it, there is absolutely no question about the overwhelming empirical evidence of its causes, whatever "it" actually is.
 
Real or not, love is great when you take it to the bedroom.

Note: Keyboards at school suck ass.
 
JasonRox said:
Real or not, love is great when you take it to the bedroom.

What's wrong with other places? :confused: :wink:
 
chroot said:
Love is absolutely real. Every time I have entered in a relationship deeper and more successful than my last, I have "rediscovered" love to be more than I had previously suspected.

What I have so far discerned is that you cannot love two people in the quite the same way -- the word "love" really gets redefined again and again with each new relationship. If anything, that's evidence of love's reality to me.

- Warren
What a romantic. :approve:
 
I personally don't think love is real. All it does is make people too emotional..
 
  • #10
chroot said:
Love is absolutely real. Every time I have entered in a relationship deeper and more successful than my last, I have "rediscovered" love to be more than I had previously suspected.

What I have so far discerned is that you cannot love two people in the quite the same way -- the word "love" really gets redefined again and again with each new relationship. If anything, that's evidence of love's reality to me.

- Warren

Am really glad you think that.
Of course, there's always doubts after break-ups but that's usual.
 
  • #11
Bladibla said:
I personally don't think love is real. All it does is make people too emotional..

If it isn't real, how does it make people so emotional?

But it can be a bit like trying to catch a glimpse of an endangered species. Elusive, rare, hiding in unexpected places, but when you finally find it, it's beautiful.
 
  • #12
OT: You can catch glimpses of endangered species at www.arkive.org. Glimpsing them in the wild, of course, is a horse of another color.
 
  • #13
love lasts 5 minutes. after that it's time for a cigar.
 
  • #14
etc said:
love lasts 5 minutes. after that it's time for a cigar.


Sounds like you've got a problem with being premature.

As i said, "love" in the romantic sense does not exist. Don't selectively wuote me and argue against that. Sure, there is a chemical state in the brain called "love", but that is not love in the "romantic" sense.
 
  • #15
Lust is chemistry.
Love is giving up your favorite Hooters shirt.
 
  • #16
Ivan Seeking said:
Lust is chemistry.
Love is giving up your favorite Hooters shirt.

One's interpretation of that statement depends on who is wearing the shirt when asked to get rid of it. :wink:
 
  • #17
Moonbear said:
One's interpretation of that statement depends on who is wearing the shirt when asked to get rid of it. :wink:

Should we consider this an admission? :smile:
 
  • #18
Ivan Seeking said:
Should we consider this an admission? :smile:

I admit to nothing. o:)
 
  • #19
Moonbear said:
I admit to nothing. o:)

When you're drunk you sure do.
 
  • #20
Does this ultimately explain the Moon part of Moonbear? :eek:
 
  • #21
Ivan Seeking said:
Does this ultimately explain the Moon part of Moonbear? :eek:

Uhh, nope. Moon has nothing to do with ridding oneself of shirts. :smile:
 
  • #22
Come on Moonbear, I know you can keep up. :biggrin:
 
  • #23
Ivan Seeking said:
Come on Moonbear, I know you can keep up. :biggrin:

o:) o:) Why, Ivan, I have no idea what you're talking about. *bats eyelashes and flips blonde hair* :smile:
 
  • #24
franz, what do you mean by "love in the romantic sense"?
 
  • #25
hypnagogue said:
franz, what do you mean by "love in the romantic sense"?


hallmark, valentine's day, gone with the wind, anything out of hollywod. Any ideal idea of it.
 
  • #26
hypnagogue said:
franz, what do you mean by "love in the romantic sense"?

I think that goes along with the line, "I love you, but I'm not in love with you." :rolleyes:
 
  • #27
Moonbear said:
I think that goes along with the line, "I love you, but I'm not in love with you." :rolleyes:
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

*Adds to list of evidence that the idea of love is a load of bs*
 
  • #28
How do you mean that it doesn't exist? Some people certainly act that way... and some of those people do it out of a genuine emotion.
 
  • #29
hypnagogue said:
How do you mean that it doesn't exist? Some people certainly act that way... and some of those people do it out of a genuine emotion.


Love is a hormonal condition to create an urge to breed. Thats all. That is what i mean.
 
  • #30
franznietzsche said:
Love is a hormonal condition to create an urge to breed. Thats all. That is what i mean.

Well, even assuming you can identify the subjective emotion with brain activity (I don't believe that, but let's not get into it here), I don't see how that makes love 'not real.' Maybe you're trying to say it's not as it seems, but that's a completely different claim. In any case, even if natural selection has selected the emotion of love to promote breeding, that doesn't demean the emotion itself.
 

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