phil3010

Is Love Chemical?

The media constantly bombards us with images of love. We witness epic romances in films and plays, cheer on our favorite television couples, and eagerly read magazine articles that proclaim they can help us find and hold onto love. In many spiritual traditions, love transcends the relationships between people and embraces the idea that "God is love" and that love is as much a spiritual force as a social one. Science offers explanations of how love works from a chemical perspective: the bond between mother and baby is increased through a particular chemical, the attractions between those who fall in love may be increased by particular pheromones, and we may even have genetic predispositions to find particular faces more attractive than others.

With all of the myriad sources of information on the roots of love, challenges arise surrounding the questions of whether love, as a spiritual subject, is sullied when we learn about the science behind it, or whether knowledge of the science of love enhances our understanding of the spirit.

For this Assignment you will be reading two articles of your choosing from the Journal of Happiness Studies. As you read, think about how each article approaches the topic of happiness and which aspect it focuses on. Ask yourself what the findings of each article are, and how these findings might impact or influence our modern understanding of happiness. When you have finished reading the article, think about different ways in which followers of some of the spiritual traditions you have studied in this course might view these findings. Do you think they could agree with some of the ideas raised by the articles, or would those ideas prove fundamentally contrary to their beliefs?

To prepare for this Assignment:

Select and read two articles that interest you from the Journal of Happiness Studies.

Consider how each article approaches the topic of happiness.

Reflect on ways in which points raised by each article might conflict with the doctrines of different spiritual traditions.

Consider some questions you still have about love and happiness that have not yet been answered in your reading.

The assignment:

Compose a 2- to 3-page paper in which you do the following:

Briefly summarize the findings of each article.

Raise three points where the findings of these articles suggest points of nexus or conflict with one or more religious traditions.

Conclude with a question you would like to see answered that has not been addressed by your research thus far.

Questions about this assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area. That way, everyone in the class will see, and benefit from, the Instructor's response.