Why Love Hurts

Thinking Allowed

BBC

Science, Society & Culture

4.4 • 973 Ratings

🗓️ 16 May 2012

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The agony of love is a classic trope of romantic literature and popular journalism. The suffering caused by failures in our personal lives seems timeless. But the sociologist, Eva Illouz, argues that the nature of romantic suffering has changed radically in the modern era. Her book 'Why Love Hurts' argues that the individual misery of the 'broken hearted' should be subjected to scrutiny by social scientists. Failures in our private lives are shaped by social forces much larger than ourselves; they can't be explained by our individual psyches and histories alone. Stephen Frosh, Professor of Psychosocial studies, also joins the discussion. Laurie Taylor puts love under the sociological microscope. Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix,
0:06.0	the Science of Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.4	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:29.7	This is a Thinking Loud Podcast from the BBC and for more details in our terms of use and
0:37.0	much, much more about Thinking aloud, go to our website at BBC.co. UK.
0:44.0	Look, I really do love you.
0:47.0	No, no, no, I really really do.
0:48.0	I mean, I love you much more than anybody else, much more than I've ever loved anyone before and I love you forever
0:53.8	honestly forever and ever I really will what's the matter why you looking at me
0:58.6	like that you look so you don't believe me what do you mean have I told other
1:01.8	people in the past that I love them?
1:04.0	Well, not in the same way that I'm telling you. Did I really love them?
1:08.0	Well, sort of, but you're completely different. I don't just really love you. I really, really love you.
1:15.0	Well, there seems to be something patulially modern about such protestations of love, such feverish attempts to maintain that true love is unique and enduring, despite the dull
1:25.0	knowledge that it is so subject to evaporation, so prone to end in disappointment, so capable
1:30.3	of being replicated. But when love does fade and die, how should we allocate the blame?
1:36.9	It also seems very modern to regard such failure as a personal fault, something perhaps to
1:41.4	do with our psychic background, our constitutional inability to relate
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.