Skip to main content

What is love? - Brad Troeger

1,805,445 Views

39,273 Questions Answered

TEDEd Animation

Let’s Begin…

Is love a signal winding through your neural pathways? A cliche? A cult? Love is easy to compare but difficult to define, maybe because we’re fundamentally biased; we try to define love while falling in or out of it. And love feels differently to every person who feels it, but this subjective emotion has evolutionary explanations, too. Brad Troeger takes a shot at the definition of love.

Additional Resources for you to Explore

“Love” is a word we easily twist around to fit our own purposes. If we can learn to distinguish love from emotional dependence and put this distinction into practice, then we make life more beautiful not only for us, but for everyone we meet. Here's a guide to making the distinction.

To learn more about what Brad Troeger is up to, check out his website and his blog.

It turns out the brain in love looks strikingly similar to one on drugs like cocaine! Find out what drives love and why we simply love being in love.

There are many types of love. Philadelphia is known as The City of Brotherly Love. Then, there's romantic love between people. What are the other kinds of love -- have you experienced any of them?

Here's the classic music video by Hadaway, What is Love? While we're at it, what is kissing? And, how much is love worth?

Dr. Gary Chapman’s expertise in marriage begins with the success and failures he and his wife Karolyn have experienced in their marriage for more than 45 years. To learn more, here are the five love languages website & assessment tools.
Sometimes, as the educator mentions, love lasts a lifetime. Here's a story of a couple that has been in love for 58 years (and they show no signs of stopping).

Next Section »

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Brad Troeger
  • Director Chris Boyle
  • Sound Designer Michael Dow
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

More from The Big Questions