Love responds to the interests of Genes

But also to Intelligence, Conscience and Values
Love is mysterious, beautiful, divine. That’s a current view.

But this is not the position of modern evolutionist psychology and biology. To these scientists, love is largely an illusion. Behind the spontaneity of love are genetic mechanisms. Or rather: there are genes defending their interests, switching on and off some chemicals; parental love, for instance, is the way created by genes to make parents defend the copies of their genes, present in their children’s bodies. Parents are being manipulated by genes.

A terrible and negative vision? We shouldn’t precipitate. There is another way of seeing this same reality.

Look: it’s not novelty that love has a genetic ground. It comes from our inside, from our deepest I. It’s what we have always said. In a way scientists aren’t adding much. They are just focusing things in terms of genes (genes are our inner side).

Secondly: genes’ power isn’t boundless; genes may be defending their interests when switching on some passions or ways of loving. But we aren’t their handcuffed prisoners. In reality we are opposing them whenever we oppose instincts (related to love, or sex, or in other areas).

We are opposing genes when we restrict the number of our children (the blind interest of genes would be that we had as many sons as possible). We are opposing them when we practise sex out of its original function: the reproductive one. We are opposing them when we love beyond what is the genetic propensity (brotherly love is a good illustration).

In other words: our love has not to be seen as a mere emanation of genes and their interests. Why should we consider the mother’s love or lyrical love as a mere genetic and mechanical reflex of the interests of the genes?

Our intelligence, our conscience, our society, and our values can overlay the genetic impulses. Our brain isn’t a mere puppet in the genes’ power game. In evolutionary terms, it appeared and developed to solve multiple problems, and evolved in a way that largely surpasses the demands of genetic reproduction. Our genes aren’t diabolic forces, enslaving us. And our loves must not be seen as a mechanical resulting of the interests of genes.

It’s a reason to say as Tocqueville has said, though in another context: «It is true that around every man a fatal circle is traced, beyond which he cannot pass; but within the wide verge of that circle he is powerful and free».