Biological Level Of Analysis

Lao Tzu, one of ancient China’s greatest philosophers once said when asked to explain what love is, “[it] is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.” Since the beginning of time, writers and philosophers have been trying to discover the origins of this “attack,” and many attribute different reasons for this immense feeling. In both Plato’s Symposium, and Ovid’s The Art of Love, Aristophanes and Ovid attempt to address the genesis of love by asking: what is the feeling that drives us towards another human: Is it physical attraction? Sexual desire? Experience in the field of dating? Or is this attack of the senses due to something beyond our comprehension,

In “Love: The Right Chemistry”, author Anastasia Toufexis discusses the philosophy of love in a more technical manner, by expressing it through scientific knowledge. She argues that, “Love rests firmly on the foundations of evolution, biology, and chemistry.” Toufexis

In the movie Casablanca, directed by Michael Curtiz, two different kinds of love are exposed. The love relationship between Ilsa Lund and Rick is a more passionate relationship while the one between Ilsa and Victor Laszlo is more intimate. Love is composed of different feelings and because of that it can be expressed, as seen in Casablanca, in different ways. “The Intimate Relationship Mind”, a text by Garth J. O. Fletcher and Megan Stenswick, helps support that claim providing a scientific background on how love is shaped by those different feelings. It says that “love is composed of three distinct and basic components that each represent evolved adaptations; namely, intimacy, commitment,

The article '' love: the right chemistry'' by Anastasia Toufexis efforts to explain the concept of love from a scientific aspect in which an amateur will understand. Briefly this essay explains and describe in a scientific way how people's stimulation of the body works when you're falling in love. The new scientific researches have given the answer through human physiology how genes behave when your feelings for example get swept away. The justification for this is explained by how the brain gets flooded by chemicals. The author expresses in one point that love isn't just a nonsense behavior nor a feeling that exhibits similar properties as of a narcotic drug. This is brought about by an organized chemical chain who controls different

In his article “Watching New Love as It Sears the Brain,” Benedict Carey expresses that love is not necessarily an emotion but rather a neurological and physical phenomenon. After comparing new love to mania and obsession, Carey offers evidence of romantic love as a neuropsychological event through the description of the caudate nucleus (a specific part of the brain which produces the neurotransmitter dopamine), explaining the cause of desire and passion in relation to love.

The human idea of love is quite possibly the most misunderstood in today’s society. Love can be between a man and woman, mother/father and their kids, or even really good friends. However, these relationships of love go through many interactions and stages to start and progress. Many psychological events must occur and be worked through in order to be successful. All relationships must endure the five perspectives of human behavior. These perspectives are biological, learning, social and cultural, cognitive, and psychodynamic influences.

Focusing on just natural clarifications of human conduct, the Biological Theory trusts that physiological variables tremendously affect sexual conduct. Scholars regularly take a gander at anomalous hormonal and androgenic levels in the body and cerebrum to depict freak sexual practices as in rising hormones are identified with physical changes that advance sexual excitement, climax, discharge, and other sexual movement. "In spite of the fact that a survey of natural studies indicates clashing results about the relationship between

The original study “The nature of love” was focused on gaining more understanding of human development (Hock, 2013). It involved a series of experiments done by Harry Harlow in 1958, in which he

This essay aims to show a comparison between the differences between both female short-term mating strategies and female long-term mating strategies. It will explore the evolution of psychology that has shown reasons for human mating and how these reasons go above and beyond the general idea of physical attractiveness and love. This essay will identify how mate preferences have evolved and further identify psychological mechanisms that women have used to select their mates over the past. This essay will compare and critically discuss the differences and outline them between female short-term mating strategies and female long-term mating

Some say, to love is to be willing to die. Others say, to love is to be willing to do whatever a loved one asks. Barbara Fredrickson says love is neither of these. In her book, Fredrickson attempts to redefine love through the biological microscope. The author compiles a variety of studies and research data to prove her claim that love is the product of neural coupling, oxytocin in the brain, and the work of the vagus nerve. Fredrickson presents a well-rounded claim, but there are some deficiencies that hinder the strength of her argument. Fredrickson’s use of vague language throughout this excerpt causes the reader to call into question the validity of said studies. In addition, Fredrickson’s use of first person point of view is a clever

“Love2.0” opens with an interesting analogy comparing love to a vital nutrient, “The more you experience it, the more you open up and grow, becoming wiser and more attuned, more resilient and effective, happier and healthier” (Frederickson 107). Oxytocin, “the great facilitator of life,” is one of Frederickson’s three critical components of

Biologists believed that facial symmetry should be attractive because it may signal mate quality. Rhodes, Proffit, Grady and Sumich (1998) manipulated the symmetry to figure out the effect on attractiveness. 4 versions of a picture were created. One was perfectly symmetric, the others were a highly symmetric version, normal level of symmetry and a low symmetric version.64 subjects rated these faces. The results clearly stated that perfect symmetry was significantly more attractive and low symmetry faces were unattractive, more over the males found the perfect symmetric faces more appealing as potential life partners, so facial symmetry does play a role in mate selection. In the second experiment the authors compared the attractiveness of faces at three symmetry levels. These were normal, high and perfect. The subjects were shown two versions of the same face at different

Love addiction and substance dependence have similar characteristics, namely, the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, the presence of tolerance and withdrawal symptoms, and the negative influences they have on a person’s life. Love addiction is similar to addictive drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and heroin because of the effects that dopamine have on the addict’s mind and body. These effects then lead to a person’s experience of tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Tolerance and withdrawal symptoms are very important in the maintenance of an addiction as they cause the person to crave and need more of the addictive

In addition, an experiment by McClintock showed that women were attracted to the smell of a man who was genetically similar, but not too similar, to their fathers ((1)). Therefore, our genetic information might play a role in whether or not someone is desirable in order to avoid inbreeding or, on the other end of the spectrum, to avoid the loss of desirable gene combinations. Inevitably, however, it is our brain that processes another individual's appearance, lifestyle, how they relate to past individuals we have met, and, possibly, their pheromones. Then, based on this information, we decide, within our brain, whether or not this person is worth getting to know.

On the topic of neurochemistry, biological love stew – adrenaline, serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, oxytocin are all part of an extraordinary evolutionary adaptation to ensure the propagation of the species. I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the topic, so I won’t belabor it. While it’s not easy to ignore such biological stimuli (just ask the cavemen that harass women daily – because they try so hard), it is possible to mitigate and even overcome the influence these neurotransmitters have on our behavior.