Intellectual or Emotional?

Razi_Alaster

Razi_Alaster

New Member
I just had a big discussion with my newly-wed friends about the connection between Intellect and Emotion. The main focus of the coversation seemed to come back to love over and over again. So I'll use it as the reference in the following questions.

Is Love Intellectual, Emotional, or both? In other words, can you chose to love someone or does it "just happened"? If it is both, which one preceeds the other? Do you chose to love someone then the emotions follow, or visa versa? Is there no decision at all? Why? If your stance is "just happened", please do your best to explain this.

Is there different kinds of love? If so, does the answer to the above change depending on with kind of love it is? Why? An example would be loving your wife/husband as opposed to loving your enemy. Ones a choice, ones not? Or both choices?

What do you guys think?

These questions do not only pertain to love, but Intellectual decisions versus emotions and emotional decisions in general. Love just seemed to be the major base of discussion in our converstation.

For personal reasons at this time, since I'm still heated from the debat. I'm going to hold off my opinions until a later time. I would really love to here your views and opinions on this subject.
 
my 2 cents

In the case of my husband and I, it 'just happened'....that is we went to school together like eight or nine years ago, then we went our separate ways....then about two years ago he came back into my life, and a year after he entered my life we got married, and we will be celebrating our one year anniversary in April. For us, it just happened...meaning, we got back in touch with each other, started hanging out and going to see movies, going for walks on the beach....I say that is just happened because all we wanted to do and still want to do is just spend time with each other....we can't get enough of each other - we even work together.

Now as far as making a choice with regards to intellect and emotion....I think that in most cases we have no control over our emotions - that is why 'it just happened.'

Emotion ---
A mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes; a feeling: the emotions of joy, sorrow, reverence, hate, and love.

Now if you look at intellect in the definition I provided:

Intellect---
The ability to learn and reason; the capacity for knowledge and understanding.
The ability to think abstractly or profoundly.

Now if you think about love and a relationship and intellect in regards to that definition, I do think it is a choice to learn and it is a choice to reason, it is a choice to gain knowledge about your husband (or wife), it is a choice to try and understand your husband, its a choice to look at things beyond the surface....now while I believe those are all choices, I also believe that in a good marriage, your aim is to make those choices without really seeing them as choices, you shouldn't have to choose to try to understand your husband - it should just be done...is this making any sense?

Moving on....is there different kinds of love....
Love---
A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.

I do think that there are different kinds of love....but I think too, that the word 'love' is used very loosely these days. I could say that I love my job, I love the kids I work with, I love my parents, I love my enemies, I love my husband....each instance I just listed would (in my opinion) all be very different....different degrees maybe...I don't love each the same. I don't think that love is a choice. I guess I think love is more of an emotion.

Intellectual decisions vs. Emotional decisions....would that be like using your head vs. using your heart? If that's the case, I think that in some instances our Emotions take hold of us, and decisions might be made in a fit of anger, or a moment of passion...I think the old adage holds true, "follow your heart." When you start thinking things out and allowing negative thoughts to enter - you are allowing the devil a chance to tempt you.
 
Every dripping blade held by panting person turned maniac killer by emotion untrammeled by thought tells us that the secret to a good life is emotion bound by reason.

Not the other way around.
 
I view it a bit differently than shyfroggy myself. Agreed that emotions kinda happen, cuz thats exactly what happened to me as of late >.>, however there is a mental choice i believe in what we do and how we handle ourselves therein involving intellect. Let me put it this way, i could spend all my time thinking about Starfire and letting emotions take some control, or i can monitor it and spend sometime on my studies. I constantly make a mental choice on doing h./w and other things instead of letting my emotions take control. the book: Waking the Dead, has some very good examples regarding letting emotions have to much say in a persons life, IE if your depressed and you dont feel God is with you, that doesnt mean ur relationship with Christ is going downhill, its ur emotions messing u up in a sense. thats my 2cents
 
Eon said:
Every dripping blade held by panting person turned maniac killer by emotion untrammeled by thought tells us that the secret to a good life is emotion bound by reason.

Not the other way around.
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Not exactly the way I would have phrased it, but I agree.

It's the raw emotion that links man to animals, but it's the logical reason that tempers it that puts man on a different level.
 
Not exactly the way I would have phrased it either - that's the marathon runner of run on sentences. :D

Ah well. The message communicates itself, I hope.
 
Regarding love; this July will mark my 4 year anniversary with my wife ... what I've come to find out is that what I thought what "love" back when we were dating wasn't love at all. Don't get me wrong, I did care for her and about her a lot. What brought us together at first was the obvious attraction to one another, both physical and as people (our character). Since our marriage, my "love" for her has matured and keeps growing. I don't believe in love at first sight ... but I do believe in lust at first sight.

LOL, whether this adds to or takes away from the OP topic is yet to be determined. Just giving you my opinion on the subject.
 
I think that love is both intelectual and emotional. We are all familiar with the emotional aspects of love with another human. But, let's look at our relationship with God. As we read the Bible and gain more insight into Him, our love for Him and for His Son grows. Wouldn't that be an intellectual love?

Gen
 
Genesis1315 said:
I think that love is both intelectual and emotional. We are all familiar with the emotional aspects of love with another human. But, let's look at our relationship with God. As we read the Bible and gain more insight into Him, our love for Him and for His Son grows. Wouldn't that be an intellectual love?

Gen
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The mind is not the heart and the heart is not the mind.

Gaining intellectual understanding of someone has little bearing on how one feels about them.

Since you're talking about the Bible, look at the types of love that are described:

storge
phileo/philia
eros
agapao/agape

Neither one of those represents an "intellectual love".

Also read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, there is no mention of the intellect when it comes to love.
 
Well Your in luck, the pastor at my church just got through a thirteen week mesage on love. Now there are TWO kinds of love, one is the love we feel for a girlfriend, spouse, ect. The other is a love that christians are suppose to show regaurdless of circumstances. This kind of love is not a feeling it is a choice, you do it when you don't want to do it. Like you've had a rough day, and everyone is ticking you off. You really feel like blowing up at everyone, but by keeping your cool and being patient your showing love. I'm not sure if this helps but its a thought.
 
DarthDapor said:
Well Your in luck, the pastor at my church just got through a thirteen week mesage on love. Now there are TWO kinds of love, one is the love we feel for a girlfriend, spouse, ect. The other is a love that christians are suppose to show regaurdless of circumstances. This kind of love is not a feeling it is a choice, you do it when you don't want to do it. Like you've had a rough day, and everyone is ticking you off. You really feel like blowing up at everyone, but by keeping your cool and being patient your showing love. I'm not sure if this helps but its a thought.
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Only TWO kinds of love?

I think you missed a few weeks.

There are more than two discussed in the Bible, I just listed them above, but for you, I'll do so again...AND I'll even throw in a description

storge- natural love or love of the family
phileo- verb, kiss/love
philia- friendship, brotherly love
eros- romantic love, sexual love
agapao- verb, to love
agape- love given irrespective of considered merit

Now how did your pastor come up with TWO?
 
Also read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, there is no mention of the intellect when it comes to love.
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This chapter only deals with agape. It does not address the others that are listed above.

Gaining intellectual understanding of someone has little bearing on how one feels about them.
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I don't think this is true. Is this not how we discern who we are friends with and who we are not?

Gen
 
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Genesis1315 said:
This chapter only deals with agape. It does not address the others that are listed above.
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No problem, would you mind finding me some verses that deal with the intellect of love?



I don't think this is true. Is this not how we discern who we are friends with and who we are not?

Gen
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The problem comes with comparing an actual physical relationship with that of a being that you can't discern with any of your senses.
 
Genesis1315 said:
I don't think this is true. Is this not how we discern who we are friends with and who we are not?

Gen
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I think the point is that we often love people who intellectually we would run a mile from. Or maybe I'm just projecting here... ;)
 
The problem comes with comparing an actual physical relationship with that of a being that you can't discern with any of your senses.
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hhhm I have as much interaction, probably more with God that I do with those who post here. I read the responses listed here as I read the Bible. So, how can I not have a relationship with God based on His word? How can that not help me grow in understanding and love of him? One may say that they hate another based on reading what is written. Yet another strong emotion that is based on written word and intellectual understanding.

Gen
 
Genesis1315 said:
hhhm I have as much interaction, probably more with God that I do with those who post here. I read the responses listed here as I read the Bible. So, how can I not have a relationship with God based on His word? How can that not help me grow in understanding and love of him? One may say that they hate another based on reading what is written. Yet another strong emotion that is based on written word and intellectual understanding.

Gen
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Note that I said an "actual physical relationship".

You also failed to respond to my last post, "No problem, would you mind finding me some verses that deal with the intellect of love?"
 
I never said there wern't more than two kinds of love (If I did I had coffee to the max or somthing). There are however (in my opinion) two basic types of love
 
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