9 What is love?
What is love?
Merriam-Webster defines love as:
1a(1): strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties//maternal love for a child
(2): attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers//After all these years, they are still very much in love.
(3): affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests//love for his old schoolmates
b: an assurance of affection//give her my love
2: warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion//love of the sea
3a: the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration//baseball was his first love
b(1): a beloved person : DARLING —often used as a term of endearment
(2)British —used as an informal term of address
4a: unselfish loyal and benevolent (see BENEVOLENT sense 1a) concern for the good of another: such as
(1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind
(2): brotherly concern for others
b: a person’s adoration of God
5: a god (such as Cupid or Eros) or personification of love
6: an amorous episode : LOVE AFFAIR
7: the sexual embrace : COPULATION
8: a score of zero (as in tennis)
9: capitalized, Christian Science : GOD
Love has been expressed almost endlessly through art. Why?
Can you think of pieces of art, images, or videos that remind you of love? Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker discuss the French Enlightenment artist’s “Fragonard,” or “The Meeting.” It is part of a series of paintings illustrating the evolution of love. Harris and Zucker over interesting context as to how these paintings we now experience through media or museums were once a part of people’s (albeit exceptionally wealthy people and those who worked for them) everyday lives.
Questions to Consider: Which definition aligns best with how you think about love? What came to your mind when you thought about it?
