Arthur C. Brooks argues love is a deliberate choice, not a feeling. St. Thomas Aquinas defined it as the will to do good for another. The Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr. both taught that loving requires conscious decision and moral effort, especially in a world full of hatred.
Love is a decision and not a feeling. Elaborate. St. Thomas Aquinas said that to love is to will the good of the other. It's nothing about feelings. And this is an ancient medieval teaching that actually comes from Aristotle, that love, philia, is a positive decision on the basis of who we are as people. And the Dalai Lama lives that every single day. He says, you must decide to love. And Martin Luther King said, to like someone is a sentimental something, but to love somebody is a positive decision. It's hard. It takes work. It's measure of who you are as a person, is your decision to love in a world full of hate.
