Love is a four letter word.
But by itself the word is too vague to be meaningful.
I love my spouse.
I love my son.
I love my cat.
I might love a Triumph Spitfire (had to look that one up, it's a car.)
But my feelings for each of these is very different though the word is the same.
Helen Fisher has been examining brains on love. She has some insights useful to consider.Helen Fisher: The brain in love
From a different lecture, I (vaguely) remember her describing:
Sex drive- Lust, the simple, straightforward drive to reproduce (anyone will do.)
Romantic love- the obsession to obtain the mate determined to be best.
Attachment- the extended commitment to a mate long enough to raise offspring.
She has found these drives are mediated by activities in different brain structures.
I expect that deeper examination will continue to illuminate and differentiate these concepts, all of which are incorporated in 'love.'
But by itself the word is too vague to be meaningful.
I love my spouse.
I love my son.
I love my cat.
I might love a Triumph Spitfire (had to look that one up, it's a car.)
But my feelings for each of these is very different though the word is the same.
Helen Fisher has been examining brains on love. She has some insights useful to consider.Helen Fisher: The brain in love
From a different lecture, I (vaguely) remember her describing:
Sex drive- Lust, the simple, straightforward drive to reproduce (anyone will do.)
Romantic love- the obsession to obtain the mate determined to be best.
Attachment- the extended commitment to a mate long enough to raise offspring.
She has found these drives are mediated by activities in different brain structures.
I expect that deeper examination will continue to illuminate and differentiate these concepts, all of which are incorporated in 'love.'
So how, exactly, does God know that She's NOT a brain in a vat? 
