The essence of love
"Look deep into nature, and then you
will understand everything better."- Albert Einstein.
LOVE is one of those things that are difficult to explain unless we
can ‘connect the dots’ between a number of earlier thoughts and ideas. In other
words, we must allow our minds to drift freely and delve deeply into different
dimensions of meaning and perspectives in order to arrive at some idea of the
true essence of LOVE.
Romantics will sniggar at this and say “Oh you fool, this is so
simple. Can’t you see that LOVE is a natural feeling, an intense attraction or
emotional connection between people?” That is true, but is this the only true
origin of LOVE, an evolutionary drive based on physical attraction? This takes
us part of the way but still leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
For instance, what about other feelings such as empathy, caring,
brotherly LOVE and ‘agape’, the pure,
selfless, unconditional form of LOVE? Are these all just old DNA imprints inherited
from past generations? Is there not some other principle that can explain the
origin of this powerful emotion?
But what tools can we use to trace the origins of LOVE even further and
reach a set of undeniable facts? Words have a magical quality in that they are
symbols of our thoughts. Words and their meaning also form ideas and if done
correctly, one idea can be linked logically to another. Logical reasoning has a
valid mathematical basis and so I believe that we can use a critical approach,
and by examining the relationships between words and concepts, find a path
through the entangled thoughts in our minds regarding LOVE and arrive at an idea
of its true factual origin.
So let us begin our journey into the magical world of words and
concepts with Theology and see what ancient teachings say about LOVE.
One of the most well-known religious statements is ‘God is LOVE’. Although
this sounds very tantalising, it does not really take us anywhere, as it means
that in order to know what LOVE is, we would have to know what God is, and I
don’t think there is anyone who can stand up and say for sure that he (or she) knows
the true nature of God. So we are back to square one.
Let us now enter the nebulous field of philosophy. Some thinkers may argue
that the essence of LOVE is linked to moral principles and specifically the
idea of ‘The good’. In other words, LOVE simply means one person treating another
in a ‘good’ or selfless way. But if LOVE just means being ‘good’ to someone, we
again end up in a situation in which LOVE is the moral ‘good’ and the moral ‘good’
is LOVE. This does not take us deeper into its more basic principles. We just
can’t seem to get past these words and concepts to enter the realm of facts.
So let us jump directly into the world of science and see what it has
to say about LOVE. If we look at commonality, we can see that both LOVE and
physics point to the idea of attraction. In science, attraction is the affinity
between positive and negative polarities, whereas in the human sciences, it is the
attraction between people. Let us use this idea of attraction as a starting
point and search for more similarities.
As a general rule we could also say that LOVE, as well as the entire physical
universe, finds form and expression in relationships. Let me explain. In physics
dual potentials attract and form coupled relationships (sub-atomic bonds),
which, when brought together, create physical things.
We also see attraction between
people as LOVE and relationships (bonds of LOVE) as an ideal outcome. These
bonds underlie the forming of families and societies. So in this case we would
be quite justified in saying that two principles, namely ‘attraction’ and ‘relationships’
seem to be common to both human LOVE as well as the natural laws of
physics.
Let us now take this one
step further. In science the source of this attraction and sub-atomic
relationships is the principle of duality,
in which positive and negative polarities are formed in nature and attract one
another.
We normally explain
polarity in human relationships as male and female, but in some cases,
attraction and LOVE can occur between persons of the same sex. So we have to
move beyond male and female and examine the concept of duality itself.
In order to do this we
will have to again engage with philosophy and specifically the role of symbolism in metaphysical philosophy.
Symbols also stand in for words or ideas, so there is no reason why we cannot
use them. In this case we have powerful symbolism in the form of the apex of a triangle
(representing unity) giving rise to two lower points or angles (representing duality).
According to this symbolism, it is suggested that a unitary principle (ONE) can
separate to form TWO opposing principles, thus giving rise to duality (the tip
of a triangle extending downwards to the two base angles). In other words, in
metaphysical philosophy, duality (principles
of positive and negative), would be said to originate from a singularity which initially contains
both in a perfect balance and unity until something causes them to separate.
In the triangle this
separation is explained by the notion of extension,
in that the triangle extends downwards to form the two separate points. In
other words, in order to express itself fully, the first principle (unity) in
extending or expressing itself, becomes duality, giving further rise to two distinct
principles and subsequently leading to a dynamic interplay and bonding of
energies which we could call creation.
However, this is not the end of the story. It is important to note
that according to science, when the two polarities are formed, there is a powerful
natural tendency for them to return to their original oneness (unity). This we call
attraction. The question is now whether we can apply this tendency to return to
unity (union) as an analogy to explain the energy or power underlying the
notion of LOVE.
So we leave science
behind and back we go to the realm of Theology. Here we find the idea of One Source
of creation (God) and the question now arises if we can compare the metaphysical
principle of the unity of ONE to the Unity and perfection within ONE Supreme Being
(God). On the surface this seems a reasonable supposition, especially if we
rephrase the scientific principles and apply them to Theology. This would imply
that the First Source (God as Unity and perfection), in a similar process of
extension and expression, creates the universe in a manner which involves the
introduction of duality and the subsequent power of attraction. All that
remains is to apply this to the notion of LOVE.
Conclusions
So if we again pose the
question ‘What is the essence of LOVE?, in terms of our long and winding path
through the world of connected thoughts and ideas, we could say that LOVE is
linked to the idea of an original UNITY within a First Source of creation,
whether we choose to call this source ‘Nature’ or ‘God’, and that LOVE can be
defined as the powerful urge to return to this unity (union).
In scientific terms, this
would be seen as the natural tendency towards reintegration and order by achieving
balance and the UNITY of opposites.
Psychologically speaking,
LOVE would arise in daily social situations whenever duality presents itself,
whether as male or female or simply the attraction of personalities, and
leading to the forming of relationships.
Morally, this innate drive towards re-unification
suggests an underlying brotherhood of man. This feeling of brotherhood,
although not always known openly, would explain emotions such as empathy,
caring and brotherly love.
Finally, in religious
terms, LOVE would represent the soul’s desire to return to union with God as
the source of LOVE, explaining the higher and more pure form (‘agape’) of LOVE.
I do hope you have found
this discourse interesting.
