Is Love an ability or an emotion?

Love is an emotion. Acknowledging and expressing it is an ability.

I vote for emotion as well. Can your friend make a case for ability? I don’t see love being any specific action. I mean, except one.

I think it is primarily an emotion. Keeping a relationship together over a significant time is an ability, because the emotion itself waxes and wanes.

Yea my friend doesn’t really understand what she said or what you guys are saying lol.

Love is an emotion. Faking it is an ability.

I’m more willing to think that love is both an ability and an emotion. You can put your mind into not loving anyone(:

@ds, i agree.

there are three motive of study in psychology; cognition (thought), behavior, and affect (outward portrayal of emotion), and couldn’t you say that some aspect of love fits into all three of these categories?

you can love some one without meaning too, which is more of an emotional (or cognitive) quality, or you can choose to acknowledge that you some some one, also sort of cognitive, but being able to act (behavior) as if you love some one, and show (affect) the person real emotions in a way that is consistent with what you’re feeling (cognition), that, I would say, is more of an ability.

An ability that comes easy to some, and with a great amount of pain and labor to others.

summary: love can be an emotion when it is purely cognitive, and an ability when it becomes a behavior.

Love is a commitment, a decision based on all the answers above. The decision to commit to care for someone over the long run. “through good times and bad, sickness and in health, etc. The thrills and highs are mostly hormones(which are the frosting on the cake) but it’s the commitment that comes with Love that will get you through the rest.

Here’s what I’m sure love isn’t:
not an ability (though there is the capacity to have love, and as wildflower expressed, to do other things with it)
not an emotion (though love causes many emotions)
not a thought (though people think about love)
not a behavior (though people do things involving love)
not an affect (though people express emotions from love)
not a commitment nor a decision (though people can decide and commit to live consistent with love)
not attachment (though people tend to get attached those they feel love for)
not something only humans have (animals do everything I say people do above; animals are people)

Love is something different from all of those things. I think it’s just part of (almost?) everyone’s nature. It comes naturally from connecting with others. When there’s nothing between us (which usually there is: all sorts of ideas, misunderstandings, ego, fear, upset, etc.), then we find that we love each other.

love is an emotion and you have the ability to express it on so many levels.

Sadly, some are not able to love, based on mistreatment (not being loved) when they are young. They want to, and try, but are ultimately unable. Really a tragedy.

I think love is an emotion first. I also think there is an ability to give and receive love. All people can love, feel love, give love. But some are limited in their ability to show love, or limited in how much love they’ll let in, or how much love they allow themselves to feel. Great question.

I am reading a book and the book has name-have something to live for is about psichology.My mind say that love is a sort of emotion witch you feel to some one close.

it is both. it starts as an ability to let another person or aspect of your life enter your soul in a way that you cannot control the way you feel about whatever it may be. once you have lost all control over this ability it turns into an emotion.

Love starts as an emotion, but you have to use your ability to continue the emotion with selfless actions that make the love deeper and tangible. Love will never last if it’s just emotion. You have to back it up with actions and in the end, with your emotions and ability, you will have love.