Love

Abstract

Love is a topic of considerable import and fascination in virtually every society. In Western cultures, love is claimed as the grounds for mating and dating and as the basis for family bonding. On a cultural level, love is one of the most frequently discussed literary topics. It is the repeated focus of philosophers, poets, novelists, musicians, artists, playwrights, and screen writers; there is no question that love preoccupies us as a society. For at least two decades, social scientists also have been adding to the burgeoning cornucopia that represents the production of knowledge on love. Research on the topic of love has expanded at an impressive pace, and there is no slowdown in sight. Yet, as we will see, despite the near-universal attraction of the subject of love, scholars rarely agree on first principles or stray beyond their disciplinary boundaries.