Love :-)

[Gallstones]

Helen Fischer TED talk on the neurochemistry of love
http://www.ted.com/talks/view/lang/en//id/307


Fine with me.

[Gallstones]

http://scientopia.org/blogs/everydaybio ... y-of-love/

[kiki5711]

super interesting, I watched some of the other videos too. I like the one with Dan Gilbert about happiness.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You know romantic love was a construct of the Roman Catholic Church?

[Gallstones]

You know romantic love was a construct of the Roman Catholic Church?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You know romantic love was a construct of the Roman Catholic Church?

I mean they started the idea, to get around certain medieval strictures on marriage.

[FBM]

[Gallstones]

You know romantic love was a construct of the Roman Catholic Church?

I mean they started the idea, to get around certain medieval strictures on marriage.

Like what?
I thought the idea of romantic love was a Victorian thing.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You know romantic love was a construct of the Roman Catholic Church?

I mean they started the idea, to get around certain medieval strictures on marriage.

Like what?
I thought the idea of romantic love was a Victorian thing.

Ask me again when I'm sober.

[FBM]

I just read something about how it was popularized among the aristocracy by troubadors in Medieval times. I suppose they would've been the trend-setters and the meme caught on.

[Gallstones]

You know romantic love was a construct of the Roman Catholic Church?

I mean they started the idea, to get around certain medieval strictures on marriage.

Like what?
I thought the idea of romantic love was a Victorian thing.

Ask me again when I'm sober.

When will that be?

[Gallstones]

I would think--and anyone with facts can disabuse me of this--that it would have been the lower classes marrying for romantic love as they had no political agendas to serve, just pairing for survival.

[FBM]

According to whatever I read, the nobility married for the reasons you allude to, like politics, wealth, etc, and dabbling in romantic liasons with troubadors was their relief from loveless pairings. The troubadors' songs and poems were eventually written down and gradually evolved into romantic plays and novels. The upper classes would have been the only ones likely to have sufficient money, literacy and leisure time to enjoy and support the art(s). I would guess that the ideal of romantic love spread from the nobility to the lower classes, but I could be wrong about that, of course.

[kiki5711]

Actually the more I think about it and from what I experienced and learned in MY life, her findings are NOT correct and too generalized.

One example is that although we may feel a "click" or instant "attraction" to someone, does not mean it's a wise choice to follow that feeling. It is a mind of teenage years where there's little experience in self control and decision making.

I have been attracted to many people in my life, and it was many times that "swept away in land of love emotion" but I knew itelectually that it is not a good choice and therefore I need to do something to not feed into that fire.

Logic, sometimes has to be the dominant direction over feelings. If we just followed our feelings and emotins, there would be no structure or limits to anything which many times could and does end in destruction of self.

[Gallstones]

With age and suffering comes wisdom--one hopes.

I agree with you kiki, that love alone isn't enough. But there being no love and only practicalities isn't enough either.

I think though, that there is a phenomenon I can only equate with the perfect storm, where all the factors--or an overwhelming abundance of factors--come together at the same time. The odds of which are cosmologically not in the individual's favor, 1/[7(10^9) + x) odds. That is extraordinary good luck. I know this happens even though science can't explain how or why.