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Polymorphism of Love

On hearing the word love, what is the first impression that emerges in your mind?
Most probably, one would think of love in form of romantic relationship between two individuals of different genders. In plain words, the love between a man and a woman (or a boy and a girl).
Aren't there any other forms of love? Why do our minds automatically associate the word "love" with this particular form?

The answer is perhaps the influence of entertainment sector to our lives.
Consider television, the most widely-accepted form of daily entertainment. Most films, dramas, and movies choose this form of love as the central topic.
Consider printed media: novels, fiction writings in magazines and newspapers. Again, love between a man and a woman is more often chosen as the central topic.

So, what are the other forms of love? The most obvious example is the love given by parents to their children. A corollary to this is the love given back by children to their parents. Let's call these as "family type" of love. Love among siblings and relatives are also included in this form.

Following the first type, the second is "non-family type" of love. The popular love between a couple is included in this type. Interestingly, it will become "family type" once the couple enters the stage of marriage :-P.
Some other forms of this type are:

  • the love among friends or coworkers
  • the love between an employer and employees
  • the love between the government and the people.

    You might laugh at this. Please read Romance of the Three Kingdoms. You should understand my idealism after that. All the three forms mentioned aboved are illustrated in the novel.

    Even Pooh and Piglet understand the love between friends.

    The love among friends and coworkers is quite abvious, I suppose. Everyone should experience this in their daily life, otherwise life will be empty.
    Disney tried to pass this to children via Winnie the Pooh series. I find the series boring, but children should enjoy watching Pooh and friends, while unconsciously learning the idea that friends are priceless.

    The love between an employer and employees is debatable. Perhaps people will argue that in this era, such relationships and loyalties between the employer and employees. Money is what matters in this internet era. Job-hoppers are usually used as the symbol of this phenomenon.
    I cannot deny this fact. I can only ask the purpose of job-hoppers to change companies. Their motive is not necessarily money. Some might find the meaning of life by keep moving from one place to another. I am sure that people who find the meaning of life can appreciate the love between the employer and employees.

    The love between the government and the people is perhaps explained best as the respect which must exist between the two. I can't find a single example of this form today.

    The form I haven't understood yet, and I might never will, is the love among foster siblings. The popular example of this is the relationship among Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I can't imagine how people can find such strong a bond that they decide to become siblings.

    With so many forms of love, can anyone tell why entertainment sector exploit only the love between a man and a woman?


    Any follow-ups, comments or objections to my view?
    Contact me: at comp dot nus dot edu dot sg with dennyisk before the at

    Last edited: Saturday, 9 June 2001
    The material published on this Web page is personal, and is not endorsed by or the responsibility of the National University of Singapore.

    Winnie the Pooh the animated series is a copyright of Disney.

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