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Love

Black and white photo of a man and woman in swimwear relaxing on a sandy beach with rocky cliffs in the background.

Love

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Love shouldn’t be blind or mad. Instead, fall rationally in love

Blind, all-consuming love goes against your interests and impedes your flourishing. Submit your love to rational scrutiny

by Berit Brogaard

A painting of a woman sitting at a table with a glass of beer, a cigarette, and a contemplative expression in a café setting.

Love

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Why it can be sublime to love someone who doesn’t love you back

Unrequited love might be bitter and painful, but it is also the ultimate expression of your humanity. Don’t fight it

by Alexandra Gustafson

Two people on a train reading Metro newspapers, one headline reads “Real claim: We’ve got £85m Bale”, the other “Royalty: A new wave”.

Love

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What I’ve learned about relationships as an agony uncle

I am an agony uncle. This is what I’ve learned about men, women and how relationships work in my 10 years of giving advice

by James McConnachie

A man and a woman laughing together in a restaurant

Communication and language

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Why it takes humour to sustain a long-term relationship

Maintaining a long and happy relationship requires a specific skillset. Learning to laugh at yourself and together is key

by Enrico Gnaulati

A painting of a man with his arm round a seated woman in a wooded area.

Love

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Working, flirting and sex: courtship in 18th-century France

Flirting, sex and affection: working-class couples courting in 18th-century France show they are not so different from today

by Julie Hardwick

Love

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The problem with love is deciding who’s doing the dishes

The modern rhetoric of love is all about caring and sharing, and very little about equality and justice. Can philosophy help?

by Patricia Marino

A couple sharing an intimate moment at a café table with wine glasses, a candle and an ashtray, seen through a window.

Love

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Your partner’s infidelity needn’t be a relationship catastrophe

Infidelity needn’t end a relationship: many people have affairs for reasons that have nothing to do with their partner

by Dylan Selterman

Ancient Chinese painting of a funeral scene with mourners in white robes around a deceased person on a raised platform.

Rituals and celebrations

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Rituals create community by translating our love into action

For the Confucian Xunzi, love and gratitude are not just feelings in response to events but possibilities for social action

by Curie Virág

Ancient Roman mosaic depicting a woman lying on a bed and a nude man beside her in a domestic scene with vibrant colours and detailed tesserae arrangement. Two women attend to them.

Poetry

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Love’s contradictions: Catullus on the agony of infatuation

Behold a man tortured on the rack, pulled apart by love and hate: how to understand Catullus’s best-known poem

by Armand D’Angour

Whirling dervishes spinning in traditional white garments with brown hats in a dimly lit setting.

Poetry

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Sufi love poetry is in vogue, but few grasp its radical meaning

The Sufi path to love in the poetry of Rumi and ‘Iraqi styles the body as a bridge to the divine in deeply erotic ways

by Matthew Thomas Miller

Photo of a black sign with yellow text reading ‘Way out’ and a left-pointing arrow, mounted on a white brick wall.

Emotion regulation

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If feelings for an ex are troubling you, try ‘opposite action’

Acting on misguided feelings of love only fuels the emotional fire. Learn to let the fire burn out with these DBT-based tips

by Kiki Fehling

A painting of an older man with a beard smiling at a young woman with braided hair in a red dress, their heads close together.

Money and economics

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How your attitudes to money could be affecting your relationship

Do you see money as a way to gain freedom or status? If your partner takes a different view, there could be consequences

by Johanna Peetz