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11.12
A review of the concept of love
 
  Like wisdom, many scholars have considered love to be the ultimate value and one that guides all others. As we have done with wisdom and other words, let us review our understanding of the meaning of the word to see if it qualifies as a potential aligned virtue:  
  Love is variously defined as:  
 
1. That state of emotional feeling with regard to a person which arises from a recognition of attractive qualities, from sympathy, or from natural ties, and manifests itself in warm affection and attachment.
2. The quality of attraction that brings like entities closer together
3. Scientifically: the mutual act of bonding to form coherent and higher states of form, exhibited by humans in the act of love as well as all other matter in the universe from the smallest to the largest structures
4. The complete and pure emotional affection of the ultimate creator towards all creations.
 
11.12.1 Love as an emotional state and an action  
  When we look at these definitions, we see that they fall into two broad categories: (a) love as an emotional state ( due to some other actions/feelings/values) and (b) love as a process (action).  
  In both cases we are describing either an effect or an action, not a value. By definition you can't consciously love someone except via the action of love, which might include kissing, hugging, smiling or sex. You may feel a warmth towards a person which we may describe love- but again this is due to other factors first.  
  This hairsplitting is important in that we are seeking conscious meditations as real-time now moment values. Love does not provide this to us.  
     
     
 
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