- "Ancient Greek philosophers identified six forms of love: familial love (storge), friendly love or platonic love (philia), romantic love (eros), self-love (philautia), guest love (xenia), and divine or unconditional love (agape)."
Exploring the meaning of love as a virtue and understanding what it is not.
Philosophical inquiry into love: This is the study of the nature, essence, and various meanings of love.
Love as a moral virtue: This involves the examination of love as potentially good behavior that may be developed as a habit or disposition to act in a way that is morally commendable.
Love and selflessness: Here, you study how love should be void of selfishness and benefit the other person.
Religious love: This involves the study of love as a spiritual and religious practice, with emphasis on the love of God for humanity.
Love and Emotions: This aspect of love intends to explore how love is related to emotions, attraction, and attachment.
Psychology of love: Study of the psychological factors that impact love, such as attachment style, emotions, and communication.
Types of love: Examination of the various kinds of love that exist and how they differ from one another in terms of expression, intensity, and commitment.
Cultural differences in love: Here, you explore how different cultures perceive and express love.
Evolution of Love: Study of how love evolved among humans, and how it continues to change through time.
Love and sexuality: This aspect of love examines the relationship between sex and interpersonal love.
Agape: This is a selfless kind of love that puts the needs and wishes of others before oneself, and expects nothing in return.
Philia: This is an affectionate kind of love, it is often demonstrated between friends irrespective of gender, tribe, race or religion.
Storge: This is an unconditional kind of love that exists between parents and children, it is often demonstrated by protection and care.
Eros: This is a passionate, romantic and sexual love that two people share. It's often said to happen at first sight!.
Pragma: This is a practical kind of love that is based on mutual benefits and similar personal interests.
Ludus: This is a playful kind of love that is sometimes mistaken for a childish love, it's usually exhibited in a new relationship or amongst younger adults.
Philautia: This is love for oneself, it is demonstrated through self-care, self-love and personal development.
Mania: This is an obsessive kind of love, there is a feeling of possessiveness, jealousy and dependence.
Xenia: This is Love for strangers or guests. It's common in hospitality, it involves showing kindness and generosity to individuals who might not typically belong to one's community or social circle.
Agathos: This is love that is virtuous, moral and dedicated to a noble cause or objective.
- "Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection... and its vice representing a human moral flaw akin to vanity, selfishness, amour-propre, and egotism."
- "An example of this range of meanings is that the love of a mother differs from the love of a spouse, which differs from the love for food."
- "In its various forms, love acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships."
- "...owing to its central psychological importance, [love] is one of the most common themes in the creative arts."
- "Numerous cultures have also distinguished Ren, Yuanfen, Mamihlapinatapai, Cafuné, Kama, Bhakti, Mettā, Ishq, Chesed, Amore, Charity, Saudade (and other variants or symbioses of these states), as culturally unique words, definitions, or expressions of love."
- "Love has been postulated to be a function that keeps human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species."
- "The triangular theory of love suggests intimacy, passion, and commitment are core components of love."
- "potentially leading people into a type of mania, obsessiveness, or codependency."
- "...with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection."
- "It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards other humans, oneself, or animals."
- "In its various forms, love acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships."
- "This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, compared to other emotional states."
- "Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states..."
- "...its vice representing a human moral flaw akin to vanity, selfishness, amour-propre, and egotism."
- "The color wheel theory of love defines three primary, three secondary, and nine tertiary love styles, describing them in terms of the traditional color wheel."
- "Love has been postulated to be a function that keeps human beings together against menaces and to facilitate the continuation of the species."
- "Modern authors have distinguished further varieties of love: unrequited love, empty love, companionate love, consummate love, infatuated love, self-love, and courtly love."
- "Ancient Greek philosophers identified... divine or unconditional love (agape)."
- "...[love] is one of the most common themes in the creative arts."