Speaking roughly, there are two competing accounts of the basis of love. First, the appraisal view: love is based in reasons derived from the valuable properties of the beloved. Second, the bestowal view: love is not based in reasons derived from the valuable properties of the beloved, but love is based in the lover, who then bestows value onto the beloved. While both models deserve due attention, the bestowal model is of present concern. Despite numerous virtues, the bestowal model faces (...) trenchant objections. In this paper, I outline and defend a version of bestowal love, according to which bestowal love is based in the lover’s motivating reasons, and which preserves the virtues while overcoming the difficulties facing bestowal love. (shrink)

Le modèle évaluatif de l’amour est centré sur l’objet et basé sur les raisons : l’amour se fonde sur des raisons dérivées des propriétés appréciables de l’aimé. Le modèle attributif de l’amour est axé sur le sujet et non fondé sur les raisons : l’amour n’est pas basé sur des raisons dérivées des propriétés appréciables de l’aimé, mais provient plutôt de l’amant. Dans cet article, je mélange ces modèles opposés dans le but de préserver leurs vertus et de surmonter leurs (...) difficultés. Je propose un compte rendu de l’amour basé sur des motifs et axé sur le sujet : l’amour éclot chez l’amant mais, en lui, il repose sur les raisons qui motivent l’amant. (shrink)

Lamy’s view coincides with much of the self-expansion model of love, but also suggests potential interesting directions for expanding it and integrating it with other ideas. These include the potential role of anticipated rapid self-development through falling in love itself being a self-expansion motivation, which although consistent with the model, has not been fully tested; and the potential role of stories/scripts of love, which although existing in the literature, have been minimally integrated with other lines of work and not at (...) all with the self-expansion model. (shrink)

This review provides an overview of the research on nonverbal expressions of positive emotions, organised into emotion families, that is, clusters sharing common characteristics. Epistemological positive emotions are found to have distinct, recognisable displays via vocal or facial cues, while the agency-approach positive emotions appear to be associated with recognisable visual, but not auditory, cues. Evidence is less strong for the prosocial emotions in any modality other than touch, and there is little support for distinct recognisable signals of the savouring (...) positive emotions. In closing, some limitations of extant work are noted and some proposals for future research are outlined. (shrink)

Lamy probing rich analysis focuses more on the criteria necessary to spark or produce a potential lover’s readiness to “fall in love.” His analysis is silent, however, about the feeling state of congeniality or mutual attachment. This raises the intriguing question: if romantic love requires some form of cognitive realization or awareness of the love object, then does long-time companionship or comfort love anchored in a deep attachment have a similar cognitive horizon?

Many scholars consider love to be a complex phenomenon with multiple social, cultural and biological dimensions and contexts. The aim of this study was to examine individual representations of love among young people in emerging adulthood and the sources they are derived from. The survey completed by a sample of 397 young people aged 18–29 showed that all the representations of love can be structured into five factors of love: 1. strength and positive benefits of love, 2. physical love, commitment, (...) searching and building, 3. biological and self-centred love, 4. the reverse side of love, and 5. spiritual love. Respondents were grouped into three profiles: 1. Strong, self-beneficial and relational love, 2. More explicit strong, self-beneficial and relational love, 3. Complex love. The general cultural resources for these factors and love profiles are Christian love and interpretations of socialised romantic love and their deconstructions. (shrink)

Scholars from different disciplines have investigated the nature of love for centuries. It has been only in the past century that social psychologists have begun to scientifically investigate the complexity of love in comparison with other emotions (Hatfield & Rapson, 2009, for review). We laud Lamy (2016) for his thoughtful intentions to pursue this long-lasting tradition and extend his goal to better understand the definition and neural bases of love by focusing on recent scientific evidence from social psychology and neuroscience. (...) The better is our understanding of love, the greater is our respect for its significant role in mental and physical health. (shrink)

The author comments on and criticizes some conclusions of the article by Lubomir Lamy entitled “Beyond Emotion: Love as an Encounter of Myth and Drive.” In addition, she shows evidence that love may be considered an integrated neurobiobehavioral process and, as such, regulated by neural systems and circuits that underlie its emotional, cognitive, and behavioral expressions.

Journal of Philosophy of Education, EarlyView.