Go back
Weber's Law and LOVE

Weber's Law and LOVE

Debates


Does Weber's Law (Weber–Fechner law) apply to the feeling of being in love?


@wolfgang59 said
Does Weber's Law (Weber–Fechner law) apply to the feeling of being in love?
2 thumbs down, No comment, Hmmm you have obviously offended someone. probably of the new age, what can I find to be offended about, movement.
Anyways, though I would find it hard to explain how, I would have to say yes.

Vote Up
Vote Down

@wolfgang59 said
Does Weber's Law (Weber–Fechner law) apply to the feeling of being in love?
“"Simple differential sensitivity is inversely proportional to the size of the components of the difference; relative differential sensitivity remains the same regardless of size.” - Wikipedia

Of course. Imagine adding ten lovers to the one you have, instead of adding ten lovers to the ten you have. You’ll notice the difference in the first case far more than you will in the second case.

Vote Up
Vote Down

@wolfgang59 said
Does Weber's Law (Weber–Fechner law) apply to the feeling of being in love?
I do not believe so.

The Weber–Fechner law is a proposed relationship between the magnitude of a physical stimulus and the intensity or strength that people feel. This relationship is logarithmic. For example, an additional "feeling" of intensity or strength is exponentially lower than the magnitude of stimulus required in order for the change to be "felt". This logarithmic sensitivity may be applicable to the physical senses (less so for some -- the hearing of sound, for example), but does it apply to the emotional senses? I think the human sensitivity to the perception of emotion is greater. Of course, embedded in the Weber–Fechner law is the idea of sensitivity threshold, and that this can be highly personalized.

Vote Up
Vote Down

@js357 said
“"Simple differential sensitivity is inversely proportional to the size of the components of the difference; relative differential sensitivity remains the same regardless of size.” - Wikipedia

Of course. Imagine adding ten lovers to the one you have, instead of adding ten lovers to the ten you have. You’ll notice the difference in the first case far more than you will in the second case.
I must emphasize here, though. "lovers" may or may not have any relationship at all to "love".

2 edits
Vote Up
Vote Down

@suzianne said
I must emphasize here, though. "lovers" may or may not have any relationship at all to "love".
How are we to quantify love?

“Oh yeah, all right
Are you going to be in my dreams
Tonight?
(drum solo; guitars enter)
And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make...”

This equates love to a measure of the amount you make (engender, bring into being), not to the number of partners you have.

1 edit
Vote Up
Vote Down

@js357 said
How are we to quantify love?

“Oh yeah, all right
Are you going to be in my dreams
Tonight?
(drum solo; guitars enter)
And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make...”
Spread out pretty thin by the numbers?

Seriously, 20 lovers is a bit much, I'm guessing that one doesn't really have that much "love".

Vote Up
Vote Down

@suzianne said
Spread out pretty thin by the numbers?

Seriously, 20 lovers is a bit much, I'm guessing that one doesn't really have that much "love".
Going back to the OP, the question is about the feeling of love. I feel love with or for a number of people. Calling them “lovers” suggests to most people, Eros love, not Agape love. I am responsible for that potential confusion. Considered as Agape love, we can probably identify many more people we share love with, but the “amount” of love we have/make/take does not equate to the number of people we count up. That may explain our different replies.