What is love?

+ real-life 'Succession' drama; quantum entanglement US Edition - Today's top story: What is love? A philosopher explains it's not a choice or a feeling − it's a practice [View in browser]( US Edition | 4 August 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Happy Sunday − and welcome to the best of The Conversation U.S. Here are a few of our recently published stories: - [The French baron who revived the Olympics believed they were more than sport − they were a religion of perfection and peace]( - [CAPTCHAs: The struggle to tell real humans from fake]( This past week’s Curious Kids question had a special resonance with me because of something I just did. The question, from 11-year-old Izzy of Golden, Colorado, asked, “How do you define love? Is it a choice or a feeling?” And the reason it interested me so much is because I just got married and vowed to love and cherish my new wife “till death do us part.” But what exactly did I promise to do? Edith Gwendolyn Nally, who is a philosopher of love, [explored Izzy’s question in one of last week’s most read and engaging articles](, first by considering it as a mere feeling. “Neuroscience tells us that love is caused by certain chemicals in the brain,” she writes. “For example, when you meet someone special, the hormones dopamine and norepinephrine can trigger a reward response that makes you want to see this person again. Like tasting chocolate, you want more.” But, as Aristotle and other philosophers knew, there’s a lot more to love than that. Nally considers the question from multiple angles and then ends on an answer that I, as a newly married man, wholeheartedly agree with. “Loving is a practice,” Nally explains. “And, like any practice, it involves activities you can choose to do – or not do – such as hanging out, listening and being present. In addition, practicing love will involve enacting the right values, such as respect and empathy.” It may take some work, but I’d like to believe Nally’s right that you can get better at it over time – just like the best relationships. Bryan Keogh Managing Editor Readers' picks [What is love? A philosopher explains it’s not a choice or a feeling − it’s a practice]( Edith Gwendolyn Nally, University of Missouri-Kansas City What makes a relationship last when feelings fade or circumstances change? 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McMahon, Trinity College A scholar of the Supreme Court and its relationship to the people of the United States says that President Joe Biden’s proposed term limits for justices can restore the court’s eroded legitimacy. - [Trees don’t like to breathe wildfire smoke, either – and they’ll hold their breath to avoid it]( Delphine Farmer, Colorado State University; Mj Riches, Colorado State University An unplanned experiment when wildfire smoke rolled through Colorado shows how trees keep some of the smoke out. - [Deadly strike in the Golan Heights risks opening new front in long-disputed territory]( Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College 12 children were killed in a strike on the small town of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel has blamed Hezbollah, but the Lebanese militant group denies responsibility. 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These are political processes done in secret, as governments can agree to whatever deals they want to make − and reject those they don’t. - [5 growing threats to academic freedom]( Isaac Kamola, Trinity College From educational gag orders to the decline of tenure-track positions, academic freedom in the United States has been worsening in recent years. - [Filling the silences in family stories − how to think like a historian to uncover your family’s narrative]( Andrea Kaston Tange, Macalester College You can uncover the depths and hidden details of your own family’s unspoken narratives by thinking like an archival researcher writing an ‘investigative memoir.’ - [With Hezbollah and Hamas assassinations, Netanyahu shows willingness to risk regional war for political survival]( Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame A full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah would likely set the entire region on fire, involving Iran and its proxies, and could drag the US into direct confrontation with Tehran. News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. Questions this week on Vance, mocap and Alaskan waters. - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Giving Today]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Follow us on social media: • [Threads]( • [Bluesky]( • [Mastodon]( • [LinkedIn]( • [Instagram]( • [Facebook]( • Or [get one daily text from us]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you [facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world](. We can give away all our articles without any ads or paywalls thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. 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