The question of what love really is has stumped philosophers, poets, and singers for centuries. But with advances in neuroscience, scientists now have a better understanding of the concept. What they’ve found is that love isn’t a single emotion or feeling but a complex interaction of different elements and emotions.
For example, falling in love involves the brain’s reward center (the ventral tegmental area) and a flood of hormones, including dopamine. These chemicals give you that rush of euphoria and pleasure that makes you can’t stop thinking about the person in your life. But as relationships progress, these brain activities change and the euphoria shifts to a feeling of closeness, security, and commitment. At the same time, hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin become more prominent.
In a more societal sense, love is based on commitment to another person and often involves sacrifice. For instance, a parent may stay committed to their child despite destructive behavior or a friend might support a colleague even when they are engaged in a toxic relationship. This type of love is based on empathy, compassion, vulnerability and, according to Velleman, an appreciation of the other as unique individual.
This is also the type of love that motivates us to help people in need, such as donating blood or volunteering in a soup kitchen. In addition, this is the type of love that most of us feel for family members and friends, as well as our pets.