Brain Food #724
The language of love (part I)
Thoughts of the day
Love is a multidimensional concept that we often fail to grasp fully.
On a day that invites us to celebrate romantic love on an annual basis, like a commodity that can be bought and quantified, this week’s Brain Food will attempt to explore and deconstruct the notion of love as we know it.
Language itself can restrict us from understanding, explaining, and expressing love in its entirety. Though today we only have one word for it, the ancient Greeks used different words for different types of love, that extend beyond the passionate romance depicted in films, and can bring to light a new understanding of human relationships: philia, storge, eros, and agape.
Philia is the strong bond that forms lasting friendships, while storge can be seen through the affection shared in caring families. Eros, can be a selfish form of love, driven by desire and huge hormonal changes in our bodies. Agape, according to the Greeks, is the epitome of love, when it becomes selfless, unconditional, and extends into time, even if the cataclysmic feelings of eros have quieted down.
When we consider some of the broader definitions of love, we begin to see how much of it there already is in our lives, though we might often fail to find the right words to describe it.
The Wall of Love in Montmartre, by calligraphist Fédéric Baron and mural artist Claire Kito, featuring the phrase 'I love you' 311 times in 250 languages.
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