• Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your results!
    Let us know how you went here
    Got a question about your uni preferences? Ask us here

does love exist. (2 Viewers)

HalcyonSky

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
1,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
melanieeeee. said:
"Recently, two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies reinforced the assumption that love is a goal-directed state that leads to a range of emotions, rather than a specific emotion (Aron et al., 2005; Bartels & Zeki, 2000). These studies showed that intense ongoing love, as compared to friendship, recruits subcorticocortical pathways mediating reward, emotion, and motivation systems."

okay so there is a cause and effect between the two. but they are not the same. meaning that again you have made the assumption that love exists.
...

the people in the studies claim theyre in love, and the studies show distinctively different brain activity in these people compared to a control. Its not saying theres a 'cause and effect' between love and brain chemistry, its saying that changes in brain chemistry creates the feeling we call 'love'
 

melanieeeee.

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
812
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
love as an emotion i know exists but its just like happiness. i could say that i love my country etc. but im not talking about that type of love. many would define love as more than just a feeling. and this is the love that i am referring to.
 
Last edited:

HalcyonSky

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
1,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
melanieeeee. said:
love as an emotion i know exists (because of my love for family etc.) but its just like happiness. some would define love as more than just a feeling. and this is the love that i am referring to.
yeah well the rest of it is just contextual social constructs surrounding the idea of being in love combined with the basic goal-directed state you're in. You love a girl, you take her out for dinner, buy her gifts, etc. because you know this will potentially prolong the relationship, and thus prolong the release of all the feel-good chemicals. A few thousand years ago, youd still do things to prolong the relationship but theyd be different to what we consider 'romantic' today
 

melanieeeee.

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
812
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
so really romantic love defined as a deep and meaningful shared connection between an individuals does not exist.
 

HalcyonSky

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
1,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
melanieeeee. said:
so really romantic love defined as a deep and meaningful shared connection between an individuals does not exist.
yeah it does exist, thats going into the psychological factors

ill ask 3unitz to find some journals on it when he gets home, seen im too lazy
 

Enteebee

Keepers of the flames
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
3,091
Location
/
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
Why do you think something doesn't exist if it's just a construct of our mind enforced by neural/chemical processes? There is no sort of... magic which exists externally of two people who are in love, but in both their minds there is something going on.
 

melanieeeee.

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
812
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
HalcyonSky said:
yeah it does exist, thats going into the psychological factors

ill ask 3unitz to find some journals on it when he gets home, seen im too lazy
mmmm okay but just remember im not talking about feelings. im talking about the connection. we cannot see the connection. nor is there any physical proof of this connection. so why should i believe that it exists. anyways this thread reminds me that i should really be doing some work for this subject at uni. great discussion btw. gave me some ideas for my major essay.
 

Enteebee

Keepers of the flames
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
3,091
Location
/
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
melanieeeee. said:
mmmm okay but just remember im not talking about feelings. im talking about the connection. we cannot see the connection. so why should i believe that it exists. anyways this thread reminds me that i should really be doing some work for this subject at uni. great discussion btw. gave me some ideas for my major essay.
Yeah so you're after something to 'love' which is external of your mind? Well no, that does not exist as far as we know. I don't see what's so important in having it external though...
 

melanieeeee.

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
812
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
Enteebee said:
Yeah so you're after something to 'love' which is external of your mind? Well no, that does not exist as far as we know. I don't see what's so important in having it external though...
so its agreed: romantic love defined as a deep and meaningful shared connection between an individuals does not exist.

Lucid Scintilla said:
Fuck melanieeeee., I was joking with the Closer quote.

On "God", the Abrahamic one, eh. I'll believe there is one if I do, and I'll believe in it/him/her/whatever if I do.
I don't.

On the paralleling of love and God, they're different, but you're right; there are kajillion theories, and who knowEdit/Delete Message Reply With Quotes what's right.

For now, who cares, live for the moment, and find it. If it doesn't exist, make it exist.

_

Lol.
lol i wasnt trying to convert you. i was showing you how those arguments are flawed.
 

Enteebee

Keepers of the flames
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
3,091
Location
/
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
so its agreed: romantic love defined as a deep and meaningful shared connection between an individuals does not exist.
It depends what you mean by these things... but if you mean that there's anything which can't be understood by examining biological/psychological/social components then I would say it does not exist.
 
Last edited:

HalcyonSky

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
1,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
melanieeeee. said:
so its agreed: romantic love defined as a deep and meaningful shared connection between an individuals does not exist.
.
no this can be seen through studying the psychological aspects of love

but even if i presented the evidence to you, you'd still be saying "but theres nothing magical and external about love therefore it doesnt exist"
 

melanieeeee.

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
812
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
Lucid Scintilla said:
I don't have an argument, when I'm not trying to argue.

I believe it does, etc., etc.; and don't care otherwise. I'll let my naivety blind me.


I'm quite aware that they're flawed, but I have no idea why you care whether they are or not, when you could be blinding yourself to the drug that is love, for lack of a better cliched, etc.
i seek truth.

no this can be seen through studying the psychological aspects of love

but even if i presented the evidence to you, you'd still be saying "but theres nothing magical and external about love therefore it doesnt exist"
well obviously. if there is no proof of this connection why should i believe that it exists.
 

HalcyonSky

Active Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
1,187
Gender
Male
HSC
2013
melanieeeee. said:
well obviously. if there is no proof of this connection why should i believe that it exists.
uh, im saying the 'connection' can be explained through psychology. It's not magic.
 

melanieeeee.

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
812
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
HalcyonSky said:
uh, im saying the 'connection' can be explained through psychology. It's not magic.
but that explanation assumes that love (the connection) exists.

Lucid Scintilla said:
What is truth?

What if I told you that truth is nothing but a misconception; that is nothing but commonly "accepted" opinion, and that it doesn't exist?

Is this absolute truth, or relative truth? Either way...
i seek absolute truth.
 

sci.girl

VCE IS DONE!!:D (finally)
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
237
Location
Procrastinating somewhere..
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
Zelekey said:
Love is invented by greeting card companies just like Jesus and niggers.
Wow, 'niggers' are created by greeting card companies??
Jesus too? Awesome, did they create Scientology too? Or is that one 'real'?
 

Enteebee

Keepers of the flames
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
3,091
Location
/
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
Honestly magpam, imo you're trying to get people to find some mystical quality to love and getting annoyed that people can offer up simple explanations without the need for such mysticism. We understand love pretty well tbqh and if that subject you're doing is suggesting otherwise (either that it does not exist or that it's something mystical) then that subject is garbage.
 

melanieeeee.

Banned
Joined
Apr 10, 2008
Messages
812
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
mmmm i guess thats your opinion but seriously wouldnt you like to know truth. instead of believing what is just commonly accepted. i know i do.
 

Enteebee

Keepers of the flames
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
3,091
Location
/
Gender
Male
HSC
2004
melanieeeee. said:
mmmm i guess thats your opinion but seriously wouldnt you like to know truth. instead of believing what is just commonly accepted. i know i do.
lol wtf are you even on about? Of course I want to know the truth, my epistemology is that we cannot know "the truth" but instead can (from observation etc) form strong provisional truths. The strongest provisional truth we have is that there is no mystical quality to love. In believing only in provisional truths I honestly feel that if there is anyone in this thread who isn't interested in the truth it's you with your constant desire to contend that our best theories are flawed based on nothing.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 2)

Top