I’ve spent quite a lot of time on relationship theory. It seems pretty clear that “love” means very different things in different contexts, and that different people interpret it differently. It also seems clear that this causes a lot of problems for people. I’d say that means they are confused. I am neurotypical, to at least a first approximation, and I’m pretty sure that most neurotypical people would benefit by understanding their emotions a good bit better than they do on average.
Yes, context does a lot of work. But when you’re trying to talk or think about your relationships, it’s useful to understand and communicate what type of love you’re talking about with more accuracy than intuition usually provides.
Your breakdown of types of love is a pretty good start. The Greeks had at least their four words for love, but the important subtypes seem more numerous and nuanced than four words account for.
This is also the case with other emotions; it’s hard to understand them, there’s a lot of variety and nuance, but understanding them is pretty worthwhile.
You are right, most people are confused.
I’ve spent quite a lot of time on relationship theory. It seems pretty clear that “love” means very different things in different contexts, and that different people interpret it differently. It also seems clear that this causes a lot of problems for people. I’d say that means they are confused. I am neurotypical, to at least a first approximation, and I’m pretty sure that most neurotypical people would benefit by understanding their emotions a good bit better than they do on average.
Yes, context does a lot of work. But when you’re trying to talk or think about your relationships, it’s useful to understand and communicate what type of love you’re talking about with more accuracy than intuition usually provides.
Your breakdown of types of love is a pretty good start. The Greeks had at least their four words for love, but the important subtypes seem more numerous and nuanced than four words account for.
This is also the case with other emotions; it’s hard to understand them, there’s a lot of variety and nuance, but understanding them is pretty worthwhile.