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On Romantic Love: Simple Truths about a Complex Emotion (Philosophy in Action) 1st Edition

by Berit Brogaard (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars 40
See all formats and editions
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Romantic love presents some of life's most challenging questions. Can we choose who to love? Is romantic love rational? Can we love more than one person at a time? And can we make ourselves fall out of love? Berit Brogaard here attempts to get to the bottom of love's many contradictions. This short book, informed by both historical and cutting edge philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, combines a new theory of romantic love with entertaining anecdotes from real life and accessible explanations of the neuroscience underlying our wildest passions. Against the grain, Brogaard argues that love is an emotion; that it can be, at turns, both rational and irrational; and that it can be manifested in degrees. We can love one person more than another and we can love a person a little or a lot or not at all. And love isn't even always something we consciously feel. However, love -- like other emotions, both conscious and not -- is subject to rational control, and falling in or out of it can be a deliberate choice. This engaging and innovative look at a universal topic, featuring original line drawings by illustrator Gareth Southwell, illuminates the processes behind heartbreak, obsession, jealousy, attachment, and more.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9780199370733
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0199370733
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    January 29, 2015
  6. Part of series
    Philosophy in Action
  7. Language
    English
  8. Dimensions
    7.7 x 5 x 1 inches
  9. Print length
    288 pages
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[C]ompared to other introductory books analysing love, this book is incredibly well balanced. [...] Firstly, the interdisciplinarity of bringing up the true nature of love from the perspectives of science, philosophy, and sociology. Brogaard does not just simply show us the research results of various different academic fields, but also turns those into stories, and constructs her own opinions based on them." -- Ōhata Hiroshi, Translated from Japanese by Hannah Kentridge

"Brogaard's book is written to be accessible to general readers without sacrificing philosophical content. It offers more than enough interesting current theoretical work to merit serious attention by professional readers. Whimsical line drawings by illustrator Gareth Southwell add to the book's appeal. Essential." --Choice

"...Berit Brogaard's On Romantic Love is an achievement... Brogaard illustrates her arguments with acute philosophical intelligence, stylistic verve, and concrete human examples... She allows readers to engage in a very personal way with profound, contentious philosophical positions. She also navigates easily through the tempestuous technical waters of contemporary neurological research on love, which is where we might expect a flood of future insights." --The Chronicle of Higher Education

"...it is a helpful manual to be used in case of being harmed in love..."
-- Metapsychology Online Reviews

"[A] good read, pacy and informative with a nice balance of narratives, debate overviews and claim staking." -- The Philosophers' Magazine

Book Description

An engaging new look at the philosophy and science of love

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0199370737
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (January 29, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780199370733
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199370733
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.7 x 5 x 1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 out of 5 stars 40

About the author

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Berit Brogaard

Berit Brogaard
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Berit Brogaard is a Professor of Philosophy and the Director of the Brogaard Lab for Multisensory Research at the University of Miami. Her educational background includes a medical degree in neuroscience and a doctorate in philosophy. Her areas of research include perception, synesthesia, blindsight, consciousness, neuro-psychiatry and emotions. Brit has written over 100 peer-reviewed articles amd some four hundred popular articles on neuroscience and health issues.

She is the co-author of The Superhuman Mind (Hudson Street Press/Penguin) and author of Transient Truths (Oxford), On Romantic Love (Oxford) and Seeing and Saying (Oxford). Her work has been featured in various public media, including Nightline, ABC News, the Huffington Post, Fox News, MSNBC, Daily Mail, Modesto Bee, and Mumbai Mirror. She is also an editor of the international peer-reviewed philosophy journal Erkenntnis and was the first female President of the Central States Philosophical Association.

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
40 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Andrew
4.0 out of 5 stars A good book explaining what romantic love is and how to survive heartbreak
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2015
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A very well written book covering what romantic love is and also how to try to control your emotions if you find yourself in a romantic relationship that isn't good for you. The book doesn't necessarily give all the answers but covers what research has been done. The book is also great in detailing how to get over a relationship and heartache/heartbreak for those looking for a way out of a bad relationship or trying to get over a relationship that has ended.
8 people found this helpful
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Aubrey
5.0 out of 5 stars and it was really easy to navigate
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2015
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I got the online version, and it was really easy to navigate! thanks so much!
2 people found this helpful
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polar bear
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting questions but unsatisfactory discussion
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2015
Promising questions but book does not give interesting answers or provide the depth & variety of analysis, more so as it is supposed to be a philosophical book. Looking forward to the upcoming "Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Love" edited by Ronald de Sousa instead. "All about love:anatomy of an unruly emotion" by Lisa Apigenesi may be a better choice for the love-book phile. And of course, love is like alcohol, best consumed rather than theorized, and you know it when u see it even if u can't describe it.
One person found this helpful
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Micheal J. DiTomasso
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2017
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It's OK. Not the answer to everything, but worth consideration.
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Lizette
2.0 out of 5 stars Bought the kindle version of this book despite the bad reviews because I like the author's blog on Psychology ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
Bought the kindle version of this book despite the bad reviews because I like the author's blog on Psychology Today. The book was repetitive and full of detailed research results. Was looking for more insight rather than reading about research.
10 people found this helpful
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S. P. McCauley
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything You Wanted to Know about Romantic Love, but Were Afraid to Ask.
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2015
I loved this wonderful, wise, entertaining little book. The author brings her considerable knowledge, wisdom, compassion and wit to this discussion of romantic love--its nature, its joys and its tortures. She dissects romantic love at its best and proposes a clearer understanding--and proposes suggestions for dealing with love at its worst--irrational love or obsessive love, for example. Sharing her knowledge of neuroscience, philosophy, and cognitive sciences she sheds constantly revealing and surprising light on her subject--with references ranging from Abelard to Woody Allen. Gareth Southwell's drawings and caricatures are also a treat.
4 people found this helpful
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OpenBookSociety dot com
4.0 out of 5 stars If you're interested in the notion of love ...
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2018
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

“I used to have real, physical pain in my chest when I didn’t hear from him, and hearing from him or knowing I’d see him made me feel so infinitely good, like I was on ecstasy. Now I turn to ice inside when I think of him. I won’t make any last ditch efforts to turn things around. There is nothing left. I have miraculously recovered from an impossible romance.”

On Romantic Love is a book written by philosopher scholar Berit Brogaard. In this work, Brogaard looks at “love” through the many lenses of human experience, and how we all interact and handle it. Love is this thing, emotion, feeling, state that we have all experience through our lives and might not always know how to handle it, but still, it can be the most wonderful or painful thing that we have ever felt. Brogaard through the use of examples from letters and stories she explains different theories about what love is and how it affects us. We also look at what Love does us physically, at how we fall in Love, and at how we fall out of Love.

I normally review fiction and types of fantasy books, but from time to time I like to read scientific or psychologic articles, to learn more about what the current ideas or knowledge have come out lately. Given that I have recently read a lot of romance genre books, I thought it will be a good idea to look into what “love” is and learn more about it for future readings. At the same time, love is one of the most mysteries and exciting emotions that humans feel, it was fun and interest to read the different theories.

There are many theories and ideas in this book, but the one that I liked the most was what falling love does chemically to our brain. The idea that fresh love, just as once start to fall for somebody is like a new intake of chemicals to our system, like taking drugs. On Romantic Love, it describes the state of being in love like consuming cocaine:

“Cocaine is a serotonin/norepinephrine/dopamine reuptake inhibitor, like the most frequently prescribed antidepressants… When you fall in love with someone, norepinephrine fills you with raucous energy, serotonin boosts your self-confidence, and dopamine generates a feeling of pleasure.”

The book also mentions that there are sometimes when emotions such as Love can be an emotion that occurs unconsciously, and until it gets to a specific point the person becomes aware of it. It mentions that it doesn’t have to be only Love, but when you are in love and in a bad relationship, the resentment and anger starts to grow unconsciously in the back of your mind and can come out at any moment.

On Romantic Love has a lot more interest ideas and theories about Love and how we experiment with it in our daily lives. The book is a great read for readers who, like me, enjoy psychological articles with interest topics that can be related to other books we read.

If you like Love or you are interested in the notion of learning about how falling in love affects us, then I recommend you On Romantic Love by Berit Brogaard. After reading the book, your notion of love will change.
One person found this helpful
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Saraswati
5.0 out of 5 stars You'll thoroughly enjoy reading this charming
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2015
You'll thoroughly enjoy reading this charming, smart book. Buy it! You'll even learn a thing or two about love, and philosophy.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Mandy
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2017
Verified Purchase
I was surprised to find this was more of an advice book then a philosophy book.
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