Does "love" exist ?

[Zaktar]

no that means is that such person has problems with themselves if they cant stand being alone - and escape from it into relationship as surogate for gettign real help.

Maybe, that kind of thing is really hard to say because the words don't give you a real sense of the emotional weight behind them. Those feelings can be a normal part of breaking up with someone as long as you can let them go at some point. If you're despondent and start making really poor choices and can't move on - okay, it's a problem.

[Shadowferal]

The answer to the question can be easily seen in the opposite; "Does hatred exist?"

[Felya]

Want to see something interesting?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxytocin

Oxytocin (Oxt) is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide. It is normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It plays a role in social bonding, sexual reproduction, childbirth, and the period after childbirth. Oxytocin is released into the bloodstream as a hormone in response to stretching of the cervix and uterus during labor and with stimulation of the nipples from breastfeeding. This helps with birth, bonding with the baby, and milk production.

Autism: Oxytocin has been implicated in the etiology of autism, with one report suggesting autism is correlated to a mutation on the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR). Studies involving Caucasian, Finnish and Chinese Han families provide support for the relationship of OXTR with autism. Autism may also be associated with an aberrant methylation of OXTR.

We are meat robots... you just got to find the right button combination.

[Shadowferal]

All anyone needs is to study history.
Courage, love, hate, hope,..it's all there.

If you don't believe in love, odds are you believe in hate. Written in blood for the whole of civilization's history.

[Nihilist74]

I think when you care more about someone else's welfare than your own, that is love. It's really hard for most of us but I think that's what it is.

[Collegeguy]

Love probably isn't real if you aren't able to have someone love you.

[Mistame]

"Love", in the context that many people see it in, is the perception of a feeling, attachment, etc. So in that context, it exists. But it's also something that you do. But as far as the Disney/Lifetime nonsense you see, that's all bullshit. There are no "soul mates" or "one true love", etc. It's whimsical drivel.

This thread seriously reminded me of that fat guy with no neck in his late 40s who went on a dating show with a philippines chick like half his age and wanted her to take an STD test.

I'm not seeing the problem here. There's nothing wrong with protecting your junk or with dating someone younger. If there of legal age and it's consensual, it's fine. People that show contempt for age differences are imbeciles.

Love exists. Maybe just work on your flaws and become a better person where someone can fall in love with you.

That's not how that works.

are you claiming he doesnt deserve to be STD cautios just because he has physical defect ?

Devil's advocate: Being fat isn't really a physical defect (ie, something you can't change).

[kamuimac]

Devil's advocate: Being fat isn't really a physical defect (ie, something you can't change).

in this case its the disease. he is missing 2 or 3 spine discs thats why his head looks like this.

ill ask you again - just because he has physical defect he doesnt deserve to be STD cautious ?

[Shadowferal]

"You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn't true. I know a lot about love. I've seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate... It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves... You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and... What I'm trying to say, Tristan is... I think I love you. Is this love, Tristan? I never imagined I'd know it for myself. My heart... It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it's trying to escape because it doesn't belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I'd wish for nothing in exchange - no gifts. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine."
~~Yvaine; Stardust

[Othraerir]

nah, not around these parts.

[Sama-81]

So my opinion is:
There is no "love"...love is a lie and there is only "desire"
Desire for having the other person for oneself
Desire for money, power, sex, family, warmth...whatever. There is only "desire"

Hate to break it to you mate, but if that's the stance to discuss, topic is already over - you're factually incorrect (even though, granted, you conveniently expand the term "desire" into a full-fledged umbrella term - rather losing the poignancy of your argument in the process). That's not an opinion, that's simply neurobiology. It would be more interesting then, perhaps, to discuss the actual nuances that separate relevant terms, and the biological basis behind doing so. A purely philosophical discussion about emotional terminology, without any anchor in the form of an underlying, non-subjective, basis...now there's a sure-fire way to waste some time without having to risk reaching a conclusion.

[smityx]

Yes. But really....

[Overlord Anrakyr]

No. Love is a heavy preference for a person or an object. The kind of preference that's caused from that person or object ticking a lot of your boxes.

[Mistame]

in this case its the disease. he is missing 2 or 3 spine discs thats why his head looks like this.

Ah.

ill ask you again - just because he has physical defect he doesnt deserve to be STD cautious ?

You didn't ask me a first time. Regardless, my initial comment includes an answer:

There's nothing wrong with protecting your junk

IE, everyone should be "STD cautious".

[margobrook]

I believe that love really exists. But this concept is rather strongly romanticized. I would even say that it is exaggeratedly romanticized. We all expect love from fairy tales or movies, but this happens with only a few. And besides, we are not shown how their life goes on. They probably have the same problems as we do. But I can say for sure what, on myself I have not yet learned what it is.

[Temp name]

Love isn't an emotion, it's a conglomeration of emotions. It's different for everyone, and some people just don't feel it as strongly as others.

[Djaye]

Yes, there is a chemical reaction in your brain that correlates with the feeling of love... and eating chocolate...

/this

love has basically been proven to be a chemical make up in our bodies. does the state of love exist? yes. does it exist in its fantastical, dreamy, rom-com fashion? not the way people think... the attachments we make in the world are less about our attraction to those people but rather a subconscious search and need to not be personally alone.

that being said, family style love, and the love you feel for family and progeny is very different and very real. i cant imagine caring about anything more than my child.

[Shadowferal]

that being said, family style love, and the love you feel for family and progeny is very different and very real. i cant imagine caring about anything more than my child.

It's just a chemical reaction...

[karl47]

I would be believe that love is the best sensations in the world..

[Felya]

It's just a chemical reaction...

It’s is... some species exploit it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo

There is very obvious evolutionary necessity for familiar love. Social bonding is not the same as familiar bonding. A species can have one, but not the other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_bonding

In 2003, a researcher from Northwestern University in Illinois found that progesterone, a hormone more usually associated with pregnancy and maternal bonding, may also control the way men react towards their children. Specifically, they found that a lack of progesterone reduced aggressive behavior in male mice and stimulated them to act in a fatherly way towards their offspring.

Hope... fading..... fading......... fad..........

- - - Updated - - -

I would be believe that love is the best sensations in the world..

Don’t want to name it, because of recreational use... but, there is a neurotoxin that causes the releases of more serotonin than you can ever naturally experience. Enough of that, is objectively the best sensation in the world.