my brother Chaitanya posted this on his FB:
An adult may come to love another because of the other's characteristics; but it is the other person, and not the characteristics, that is loved. The love is not transferrable to someone else with the same characteristics, even to one who "scores" higher for these characteristics. And the love endures through changes of the characteristics that gave rise to it. One loves the particular person one actually encountered. Why love is historical, attaching to persons in this way and not to characteristics, is an interesting and puzzling question. - Robert Nozick
Which created a mild flurry of discussion. well, not flurry really, but i posted questions a few time.
i've been pondering the nature of love lately. what the hell is it? commitment? chemistry? where does it come from? why to one person and not another?
Nozick's quote both comforts and frightens me.
i have no answers. do you?
3 comments:
Interesting quote. I remember as a preteen telling my mom that I didn't think I loved her. It wasn't in a fit--I wasn't trying to hurt her. I had just realised that I had no objective way of defining love, and so hesitated to continue professing something I couldn't be sure of. Obviously I got over that. I know I love my mom, my family etc, but yeah, I still don't know where that knowledge comes from even though I'm sure of it.
At what point did I realise that I love Russ? I think even as love was beginning to happen I continually doubted it. Russ is much more intuitively sure of these things and he had to convince me of what I was experiencing.
I have no answers here. I'm just adding to the conversation.
very good and cool,thank you for your sharing.
Dear sis and fren, I didn't know that the quote would remain with you so long.... Despite the fact that I have been thinking of love for sometime now, Nozick has taken me by surprize. Nozick's quote still intrigues me.
Chai
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