Theory of love

Good morning, Coberst

"Love is an instinct without which mammals would not have survived?"

I see a couple of problems here:

1) Animals, including humans, survive, as a species, through propagation. Love may well not be involved. More likely, propagation is the result of complex interplay of pheromones.

2) Courting, sexual, and nurturing behaviors that we are culturally conditioned to perceive as aspects of love are not restricted to mammals.

You evidently know someting about the German language. Oberst means big shot in German. I was in the service long ago and was stationed in Germany. We had Geman civilians working on base. Often I was stopped by one and laughingly they would tell me what oberst meant in German and to see a private in the American army with the name oberst they found to be very amusing.

Oberst may be slang for a big shot, but it is actually a military rank equivalent to a full colonel. Oberst-leutnant is equivalent to lieutenant-colonel.

They found Pfc Oberst very amusing and had to share it with me.

Miklos7 wrote - "Love is an instinct without which mammals would not have survived?" Let me explain the often unsuspected chemical background
of love.

Imagine an invisible, undetectable force that's powerful
enough to override your sense of reason yet draws you
to someone with an almost animal passion. These aren't
Cupid's mythological arrows, but real shots of human
pheromones.

http://health.discovery.com/centers/sex/aphrodisiacs/phermones.html

Welcome to The Scent of Eros:
Mysteries of Odor in Human Sexuality -

'Scientists in Philadelphia have established for the first
time that the human body produces pheromones, special
aromatic chemical compounds discharged by one individual
that affect the sexual physiology of another'....

http://www.athenainstitute.com/discovery.html

Do pheromones work in human sexual attraction?

They may be odorless and colorless and their function may be
mysterious, but human pheromones at last have the zest of
scientific truth. Researchers at the University of Chicago
have demonstrated that compounds swabbed from the
'underarms' of young women at different times of the month
can alter the length of other women's menstrual cycles,
compressing or expanding the cycles in predictable
fashion....

http://www.ishipress.com/humanodo.htm

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9803/11/pheromones/index.html

What is the force that lights the fuse between two
complete strangers? What current pulses through their veins,
engorges their hearts, occupies their minds and numbs their
texting fingers?

As magic formulas go, sexual chemistry must surely
be the most valuable. It's intoxicating effects are more
pleasurable and more powerful than any drug and when it hits,
it hits hard. There are the rushes of ecstacy, the gut wrenching
anticipation, fluttering, dizziness, and the diminished
concentration that turns day-dreaming into a full-time job.
And then there are the side effects. A positively Colombian
annihilation of appetite and its confidence- boosting by-product,
weight loss.

But no one knows what "it" is. Scientists have managed to
map our genetic blueprint. They understand the subtleties
of hormones and the complexities of the emotional brain.
But the thing that makes two people click remains a mystery.
Theories abound as to what, or why. Those looking for a
magic bullet (or Cupid's arrow) tend to favour the notion
of pheromones - scents secreted by the sweat glands in the
'armpits'....

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030629/ai_n12741733

Science of Love - Cupid's Chemistry:

Why do we love, what is passion, and why is intense
desire between two people sometimes called "chemistry"?

There are, in fact, three distinct stages of love; each with
their own characteristic emotional profile and scientific explanation.

First is lust. Lust is driven by our sex hormones testosterone
and oestrogen. These hormones are what get us 'out on the pull'.
After lust comes attraction. This is the love-struck phase;
the time when we lose our appetite, can't sleep, and can't
concentrate. This is what we know as falling in love.

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/clairemcloughlincolumn1.htm/

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/interviews/interview/446/

The psycho-physico chemistry of love:

When two people are attracted to each other, a
virtual explosion of adrenaline-like
"nuerochemicals" gush forth.

Also, involved in chemistry are dopamine and
norepinephrine, chemical cousins of amphetamines.
Dopamine makes us feel good and norepinephrine
stimulates the production of adrenaline. It makes
our heart race!

These three chemicals combine to give us
infatuation. Tht is why new lovers feel euphoric
and energized, and float on air. New lovers can
make love for hours and talk all night for weeks
on end.

Now, imagine the combined effect of hormones and
pheromones.

It's bound to be mind boggling!

Pheromones are hormones.

I suspect that this:



is the result of this:

Good morning
VSP, when you mentioned the general theories on the chemistry of love (thanks for putting them in your post), I was surprised that your sources didn't land hard on oxytocin (which, by the way, has been synthesized and is on the market, by prescription, for those interested in the scientific method of amour).

Oxytocin is a hormone, found in mammals, that is released in both sexes from the pituitary gland, mostly, and most often during orgasm. Its concentration also is found (preliminary studies) to rise among males and females who report themselves as in the process of "falling in love." This problem in cause-and-effect will be tricky to sort out. Which happens first?

It is known that oxytocin promotes: trust, generosity, bonding, sexual arousal. Looking at the issue in terms of evolution, the trust factor could be problematic; there will definitely be times when giving someone your trust is not, for you, adaptive.

On the topic of scent--specifically our automatic sampling of pheromones-- it is now known that one reason we unconsciously sniff potential mates is that we (and some other mammals) have an innate program that discourages us from falling into a sexual relationship with people who are genetically too closely related to us. This makes good sense for our well-being in several ways.

Apparently, if we are actually conscious that the perspiration of a member of the opposite sex smells genuinely good to us, this bodes well for romance. In the real world, then, it's conceivable that a good place to find suitable mates might be on the tennis or squash court. Squash would be ideal, as you play in a smaller enclosed space--but the sport is not nearly as common as indoor tennis. Too bad squash courts are so expensive to build; perhaps, in the interest of promoting lasting, quality relationships--which save resources and, most importantly, raise healthier children--governments should subsidize their construction!

I had an experience that sort of ties Coberst's theory about mammals and their young and VSPrasad's information about pheromones (or more precisely the science of odor and memory) together (although it hadn't anything to do with erotic love).

I was in Greece on a bus. I hadn't seen my mother (to whom I have always been and remain very emotionally close) in over a year- which actually was the longest I've ever gone in my life without seeing her.

I wasn't thinking about her at that moment though. Then this elderly Greek woman got on the bus and sat next to me. I don't know if she was wearing the same kind of talcum powder or what - but I was immediately aware of her scent which was exactly the same as my mother's. I started crying (not noticeably) but yes, crying out of nowhere. The connection (through scent) was that strong. And my reaction to it was beyond my control.

And I think that Miklos hit the nail on the head when he spoke of love being inexplicable and individual and not applicable to general theories- because it is linked to pleasure and enjoyment and individual tastes- even nurturing and nonsexual love. Speaking as a mother, it is pleasureable and enjoyable for me to be able to nurture my child, especially when my child reciprocates that pleasure and enjoyment toward me for that nurturing.
But I'm fully aware that that's my individual response; certainly not all mothers feel or react toward their offspring that way. But I do agree with you, that when everything works in concert- that instinctive love is necessary for the healthy and thriving survival of a species (if not the bare minimum survival status).