How Do You Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways (The Phenomenology of Being Loved)

The author establishes several criteria which in our culture are used by an individual to determine whether another person loves him/her. Three conditions necessary for the perception of love are elaborated and shown to entail several logical and psychological inconsistencies. It is suggested that our society, while emphasizing the importance of being loved, defines love so as to mitigate against it being perceived.