What is love? The meaning of the word is multifaceted. We will try to somehow determine it anyway. Since there is a certain essence behind each word, for a better understanding it is necessary to highlight the types of love and the variety of the most ambiguous feelings in the world.
The lexical meaning
First, let's determine what the lexical meaning of the word “love” is. According to the dictionary, the lexical meaning includes the most common and essential signs of an event or phenomenon. The lexical meaning is abstract to the limit and does not pay attention to the specific features of the fact of objective reality. Based on this scientific and slightly vague definition, which we have also compelled to reduce, it turns out: “love” (the meaning of the word follows) is a feeling of affection or sympathy for a person or thing. Yes, sadly, things can also be loved. And some love things even more than people.
Kinds of love
There can be as many classifications of love as there are scientists in the world. And perhaps each person can give their own definition and classification. We have chosen the following systematization:
We characterize each one sequentially.
Eros is love. It is “volatile”, it appears quickly, but also evaporates instantly. Depends on the external qualities of the object. In other words, Eros is a passion without any other components.
Fileo - sympathy for a friend. This kind of love is not based on beauty. In this case, a person is attracted to the inner qualities of another. Naturally, this feeling is more durable than the first and less changeable, but it comes to an end if a friend betrays or insults.
Storge - children's love for parents or parents for children. This feeling is almost reflexive. It does not depend on the external characteristics of the object, and even often the actions of children (sometimes parents) are not taken into account. Any number of examples. Parents continue to love addicted children and alcoholics. And children who grew up in an orphanage often look for their negligent parents. This is storge.
Agape is a special kind of spiritual love for a person, which, on the one hand, is unconditional, selfless and requires nothing for itself, but on the other hand, understands everything and forgives everything. For example, a mother who loves her child so much sees his shortcomings, but forgives them, and does not close his eyes to the minuses of human nature, as in the previous case.
True, each classification has its own ideal. Agape, as a rule, is inaccessible to an ordinary person (except as a result of divine influx), such love is the lot of the prophets (Christ) and outstanding public figures (M. Gandhi).
As can be seen from the classification and examples, love (including the meaning of the word) is diverse and depends on what kind of meaning is embedded in this concept in a particular situation and what exactly it expresses:
- Friendship.
- Passionate love.
- Love for parents / children.
- Spiritual selfless love.
It should be remembered that in reality there is no clear separation of feelings and can not be, because chaos is at the core of reality. However, we are ready to talk about maternal love and its ambiguity.
Mother's love
Ideally, maternal love is either storge or agape. More often the first, because the second is the lot of units. Mother's love is programmed by nature. If it weren’t, then people would not have survived the first years of the life of their children. It is more difficult for fathers to develop the social skill of loving children. That is why motherly love is unconditional - a gift from heaven, and fatherly love can be earned and lost. Mother continues to love all the time.
Thus, if the reader is stopped on the street and asked: “What is the meaning of the word“ motherly love ”,” he will not be confused and will answer. But that is not all. It is worth highlighting the problem of the ambiguity of maternal love.
Moms and goddesses
Yes, ideally, mom understands everything, forgives everything, always supports. But people are brought up not by gods, but by people. We learn from our parents not only the good, but also the bad. And mothers can not only love their children, but also put pressure on them, use them as a tool to achieve their own goals, which they did not submit to.
A woman in some situations and cases is more cruel than a man. But this is unpopular information, because it destroys one of the fundamental cultural myths that the mother is unconditional love and goodness.
But the ancients already knew how changeable the female heart is not only in relation to men, but also in relation to children. The main goddesses of some archaic cults were responsible for both birth and death, and sudden death, irrational and absurd. The word "death", by the way, is also feminine. And this is no accident.
In other words, it is not so easy to answer the question of what love is. The meaning of the word implies different interpretations.
The main difficulty in analyzing the meaning of such words is that, on the one hand, they are extremely abstract — they contain an incredible amount of meanings, and, on the other hand, they are extremely concrete when they are operated by an inexperienced person. One way or another, we believe that the task is completed. And if someone ever tells the reader: “How do you understand the meaning of the word love, articulate quickly, without hesitation!” - he will not be confused and will answer.