What is love?
- May 22
- 4 min read
Some search results from my laptop, nothing of my own today... because I write about this privately enough and am just collecting here what I could find. Can an AI know what love is? It was fed by humans. And it regurgitates what the internet has to offer. First, I'll write what I think about it.
What is love?
Everyone can answer this question for themselves, and depending on their own experiences, they'll probably answer it differently than others. I find this question interesting because the possible answers are likely to be divided. What kind of wording is appropriate for the topic of "love"? Can "opinions differ"?
Shouldn't love be from the heart and unite, independent of the mind?
That's my view of things. I see love as independent of everything that humans have created for their social world. I see it as a primal feeling that is older than anything humans have created. And by that, I don't mean that love is an instinct, but something much deeper.
Love connects people. Love is. Everything else fades. Values and norms change. Money, prosperity, recognition, opinions... What good is all that if you don't have love? - The last shirt has no pockets.
It's in the "Song of Songs" in the Bible...
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith and can move mountains with it, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I give away all I have and offer my body to boast, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient and kind. It does not resent or boast or stand haughty. It does not act unseemly or seek its own advantage or is easily provoked or held in resentment. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Although I lived among devout Mennonites in Paraguay for two years, I'm not someone who preaches the Bible. I've read it. And I believe. Above all, I believe in love, and I know that it moves mountains. It gives me strength for my actions, which is more important to me than anything others tell me.
Now I'll write something more of my own: I think—no, I don't think—I love. And that's it. If I thought I loved, then I don't love, not really.
Love is more than a dialogue and more than a bridge; it simply is. Simply there, grown like a vine over a river, completely naturally and not forced. To those who ask me, "How can you swing across the river on this vine?", I hereby say: "Hey, you've apparently never been on my side of the river, and you've apparently never swung across this river on this wonderful vine. But I do, and I arrive on the other side. With my vine and my love."
The Bing AI answers the question "What is love?" as follows:
Love—a word with countless meanings, depending on who you ask. Philosophically, it's a deep feeling of connection, a universal concept that transcends cultures and time. Biologically, love is a mix of hormones and neurochemical reactions that send our brains into a frenzied state.
But love is also chaotic, surprising, tender, sometimes painful, and yet what so many people strive for. It manifests itself in small gestures, great sacrifices, and everyday moments.
Love is a fascinating concept that is viewed from different perspectives:
Sociological: Love is often viewed as a social construct shaped by cultural norms and societal expectations. Max Weber viewed love as a form of emotional action. In modern societies, romantic love plays a central role in partner selection and family formation.
Psychological: In psychology, love is understood as a complex interplay of emotions, attachment, and neurochemical processes. John Bowlby's attachment theory describes love as a deeply rooted human need that creates security and belonging.
Philosophical: Philosophers like Sartre viewed love as an existential phenomenon linked to freedom and self-awareness. Others, like Plato, saw love as a driving force toward knowledge and the pursuit of the good.
Religious: In many religions, love is understood as a divine principle. In Christianity, charity is a central value, while in Hinduism and Buddhism, love is often equated with compassion and universal connectedness.
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