Romantic Love and Time
Abstract
Aaron Ben-Ze’ev, University of Haifa, Israel
Angelika Krebs, University of Basel, Switzerland
The relationship between romantic love and time is complex and can be addressed on various levels:
(1) The temporal aspect in the experience of love; we may distinguish here between (a) acute emotions, (b) emotional episodes, and (c) sentiments.
(2) The way objective time influences love; here we may speak, for example, about (a) negative or positive influences, and (b) influences making love more or less intense or profound.
(3) The way love influences the subjective experience of time; for example, whether time is perceived to stand still or to pass very quickly.
(4) Practical issues concerning love and time, for example: (a) love at first sight, (b) endless love, (c) love in a restless world, and (d) love in an aging society; can profound (endless, exclusive) love still function as our ideal today?
The above issues indicate that we need a comprehensive framework for understanding the connection between love and time; we need this framework for decide, both as individuals and as society, what practical steps to take.