Love is all you need
— The Beatles
Love is a serious mental disease
— Plato
In honor of the month of Valentines Day, I wanted to introduce a collection of articles about what love is, the theory behind it, and the research that supports it. Poets, painters, musicians, sculptures, photographers and writers need not worry that science is muscling in on their territory. We just want to add our voice to the chorus.
In the book, A General Theory of Love, authors, Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini & Richard Lannon, review what we know about attraction and neuroscience. They generate an interesting framework from which to launch this series. They begin with something that provides a foundation upon which the theory and practice of love can be built: “Because it is part of the physical universe, love has to be lawful.”
They added the italics, not me. The laws of love (yes, it was a competing title for this series) might sound a bit dry and academic. In fact there is a general distancing between the rigors of science and something as ubiquitous as the search for love. Science tends to leave us cold, and love, as you know, warms us up.
Shouldn’t we scientists leave love to lovers and artists and leave a little bit of mystery?