"No matter what their gods were, what they did for a living, what they wore, the songs they sang, everything varies except love, and everybody loves. So I became convinced that this was a real thing, that we were built somehow to form partnerships. And then the day came when I thought to myself, "Well, then it must be something in the brain.""
"- I really began by wondering why we bother to pair up at all. 97% of mammals do not pair up; people do. So I thought that might be quite easy. And I looked at the Demographic Yearbooks of the United Nations, and in every culture in the world, and not only around the world today but historically, traditional societies, hunter-gathering societies, every single culture in the world has some mechanism for people to form some sort of partnership to rear their babies as a team."
Human beings universally form romantic partnerships and experience love across cultures and history. Humans pair and rear offspring together while 97% of mammals do not form pair bonds. Cross-cultural demographic and ethnographic data reveal mechanisms for forming partnerships in every society, including hunter-gatherers and agrarian peoples. Love appears rooted in brain systems that motivate bonding, with neurochemicals like dopamine driving attraction and persistent searches for mates. Romantic love influences mate selection, cooperative parenting, and social structures. Consequently, love operates as a biological adaptation supporting reproduction and child-rearing strategies.
Read at Big Think
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