What is Love

definition paper instructions
https://learn.vccs.edu/courses/404081/files/109627702?wrap=1

Here are the instructions for the arguing definition paper.All of our papers will be the same length, four pages, and they will require at least four different sources. In arguing definition, you are to take a word or two and define it in four full pages. Yes, this sounds impossible, but I have done it too. In my Master’s thesis, I defined ‘American Gothic’ in over 90 pages. The reason it is often important to define terms is because people do not always agree on a term’s meaning, which presents problems in argument because your argument must be clear and coherent to the other side if you wish to convince them to take your side or see your point of view. For instance, with the abortion issue, if you are against it and refer to the fetus as a little, cute, innocent child, you are trying to guilt your audience into taking your side. This is an emotional ploy, not an argument. Let your support, examples, and evidence be your strength, not manipulative, emotional word choice. Furthermore, your audience probably does not believe that it is a child or viable human when an abortion is allowed to be performed. In fact, both sides would agree that terminating a child or human is wrong, so the actual argument might be: When does a human start? At conception? At birth? Three months after conception? Seven months after conception? Basically, before you can have an argument about abortion, you have to define and argue for a definition of the word ‘human’ first. Do not assume that other people or your audience believes what you believe or sees the world and arguments in it like you see them. Before we can have discussions, conversations, and arguments, we have to sometimes argue for and agree on definitions used in discussions, conversations, and arguments.Many times, you have to convince the audience to accept a definition of a term; therefore, you have to define what the term means to you or how you are going to use it in an argument, and you must support this definition with facts, evidence, research, and support. In short, you are arguing for a definition of a term. Here are some example words that you might try to define in your paper: Love, hate, violence, human, beauty, art, pornography, happiness, evil, education, poverty, culture, law, spanking, abuse, rights, evil, punishment, discipline, justice, revenge, or any emotion. Basically, we throw these words around, but we do not know what they actually mean because they can have many different meanings. So, if they all mean something different to each person, then how do we know what they really mean? Your job in this paper is to define and argue for a meaning. For example, if someone tells me she loves me, and love, from her point of view, means m-m-m-marriage and c-c-c-commitment (it’s hard to even type those words), but ‘love’ for me means ‘yeah, I like hanging out with you,’ then we are obviously not going to last as a couple because we have different meanings for the word ‘love’. Both meanings are correct for each person, but if they do not agree on what the meaning of ‘love’ is or if they do not define the meaning of ‘love’ for each other, then problems will follow and everything will wind up all Amityville. This is why definition is important. Also, remember, since this is argument, you have to argue against, refute, and rebut any opposing definitions of your word. An argument paper does not mean that you only talk about and support your own position. Argument means that you support your own position AND refute opposing positions, meaning different definitions of your word. Therefore, find different definitions of your word and argue
why they are not the best definitions, are illogical, irrational, or incomplete. Basically, argue for your definition and then quote and refute different and/or opposing definitions. Do not just explain or announce your definition. Explaining one position is exemplification, not argument. Also, do not just announce opposing or different definitions. You must refute and rebut opposing or different definitions. In all of our papers, you must pick a position in an argument and argue for it, and then you MUST refute opposing positions. In short, there will be no one-sided arguments in this course. Make sure to quote and refute other arguments. Do not do: success, abortion, game, flirting, children, fight, atheism, immunization, wealth, bicycle, car, truck, vehicle, coach, Wawa, corporation, cloning, nature, drug, job, or any other words that are just words with clear meanings or meanings that everyone already knows. One could argue about the ethics around these words, but no one is arguing about the meaning of these words. Moreover, make sure that people are actually arguing about your word academically. When carpenters talk about tables, they are not arguing over the definition of a table and there is hardly any academic research about what a table is. In short, make sure to take a critical approach when writing papers and arguments, make sure to apply college level thinking and critical analysis to your topics, and make sure to write about your topic on a college level. For example, do not define art as paintings, and music, and pictures, and it makes you fill happy and good, and blah, blah, blah. Define art by discussing aestheticism, its ability to provoke, how art must be sublime, creating fear and awe at the same time, or by defining it as singular and unique, not a copy or reproduction, along with the explanation and argument to support these points. Also, make sure to quote and refute opposing or different definitions. Make sure to have me approve your topic and word. Lastly, we are not just listing words. For example, a job is a type of career. These two words, basically, mean the same thing, and there is really no critical argument about them. Also, listing different types of jobs is not arguing for what a job is by definition, so, again, do not use simple words that have no argumentative content and do not just list types of your word. Find a word that is used by many, misunderstood, argued about, and/or has no clear meaning or many different meanings and contexts. For example, love, art, happiness, terrorism, and hero are words that have many unclear meanings and contexts. These would be good words to argue about and to try to define. General argumentative paper format:IntroductionExplain the argument and different positions. Why is it important to argue about the topic? What needs to be resolved and why?—thesis statement should be a definition with three supporting reasons and/or pointsBodyThe body should be packed with specific details. Avoid vague, general wording and do not repeat the same information in different ways. For example, Walmart is great. Walmart is
amazing. Walmart is awesome…do not do this. The body should have at least 8-10 developed paragraphs, packed with details, critical explanations, critical arguments, critical refutations, and critical sources. Only academic research is accepted in the course. Use the college databases.Do not just surf the web.Do not quote personal blogs or any blogs. Do not quote regular dictionaries or encyclopedias; they are not critical sources. Half of the paragraphs, meaning 4-5 should be arguing for why your definition is the best, clearest, most logical and rational definition. The other 4-5 paragraphs should be used to quote and refute opposing and/or different definitions of your word. In short, support, explain, and argue why your definition is the best logical definition, and then refute, explain, and argue why other definitions are not the best logical definitions. Do not argue for all definitions or just list different definitions. Why is your definition the best? Refute different and/or opposing definitions. Do not agree with or just state different and/or opposing definitions. Note: you can have more paragraphs than just 8-10. Use as many paragraphs as needed to write the paper. ConclusionExplain in a more refined way why your definition is better than all of the rest of the definitions. Do not repeat the thesis word for word. Do not repeat what was said in the body word for word.One major final note: Since this is an arguing definition paper, all of your quotes must be definitions of your word. Quotes that are not definitions of your word will not be counted as part of the four required sources. Example: If you are arguing for a definition of happiness, do not use a quote that says, “many people are happy and want to be happy.” This example quote says nothing. It does not explain what happiness is or is not. It does not argue for or refute any critical definition. It is also circular, meaning that it is trying to define happiness with the word happiness and/or is just saying people are happy because they are happy. Example of circular logic: happiness is when one is happy. This is circular logic and it begs the question. The quote is also a bit obvious and general, meaning that anyone could say it. Do not quote the obvious. Do not quote general feelings, information, or definitions. Quote critical arguments and explanations that specifically define the word. Lastly, do not write about people and how they feel or what they personally believe, and this goes for any paper. Academic papers focus on subjects, not feelings or people. Leave people and their personal feelings, including your own personal feelings, out of academic papers. You may quote experts. Expert opinions are not based on personal feelings or beliefs. Expert opinions come from and are based in logic, explanation, and argument, not emotions, feelings, and personal views. Avoid beginning sentences with people, some people, many people, few people, people, people, people…no people. In short, do not write about people or your own personal views and feelings.
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Finding academic sources:

To find articles in a scholarly journal with a print version: database (citation number 2), open the TCC web page, hover over Service and Support, click on Libraries, scroll down to Visit The Library Website, click on Articles, click on All Databases…now you are in TCC’s collection of databases. Use the database called Academic Search Complete; it is an easy to use database. Click on it. If you are on your own computer, you will have to log into TCC. If you are at TCC, you do not have to log into the system. Now you are in the Academic Search Complete database. Scroll down slightly. Place a check in the box that says Full Text and check the box that says Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals. Scroll back up. Type any subject into the search box using key words…omit small connector words. Press Enter. Now you will see a list of article titles. Pick any article title and click on it. Note: If you do not see pdf files in the article, you did not put a check in the box that said Full Text, so you will not be sourcing a print article. A print article means that the article is actually on physical paper, not just digital. After clicking on the article title, a page will open up with everything you will need to create a citation. All of the citation information needed is on this page.

College level courses and instructors will require you to use academic databases whenever you write papers, do projects, and, basically, for all work that requires research. Surfing Google, Bing, Youtube, Yahoo, Google Scholar, or using any other non-academic source will not be allowed when doing work in most, if not all, college level courses. In short, citation number 2 and college databases are going to become your best friends throughout your college career. When instructors require academic sources, they are requiring you to use college level databases. College databases should be the first places to go when doing college level work. You are expected to use them as a college student.

When you have found an article in an academic database, you can print it, save it, email it, or open the pdf and read it. Non-academic sources, even if sourced properly, will not be given credit as sources and will not be counted as sources. Basically, if a paper requires four sources and you only have three academic sources and a random source that is not academic, you should be prepared for a very low grade and/or possibly having the paper not accepted at all. The assignment called for four sources, the instructor expects you to know that sources should all be academic sources because you are a college level student, especially if you have already passed the first college composition class, and having a minimum amount of sources means having academic sources, so if a paper does not have all academic sources for the required amount of sources, then the paper or project did not meet minimum requirements to be graded or accepted. In simple terms, use academic databases to find articles for research. On the Works Cited page, list the sources alphabetically. Do not use numbers or bullets.

Citing in the body of a paper

In the body of the paper, critically introduce a quote, put quotation marks around a quote, and use an in-text citation, which is placed at the end of the sentence and looks like this (Smith 42) or (American Cancer 42). Smith would be the author\’s last name and 42 would be the page number. American Cancer, being The American Cancer Society, would be the online source\’s name and, again, 42 would be the page number the quote or information was taken from. If I see (Smith 42) in the body of the paper, then that will refer me to the Works Cited page, at the end of the paper, where the full citation is written out. Here is an example of a quote and an in-text citation: According to Douglass Adams, author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy, “the answer to the ultimate question is 42” (166). You could also write: “The answer to the ultimate question is 42,” according to Douglass Adams, author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy (166). Both are acceptable and correct. However, if you do not introduce your source, you must place the author’s last name and the page number or paragraph number in the in-text citation. For instance: According to the author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy, “The answer to the ultimate question is 42” (Adams 166). I would prefer the former to the latter. One must always preface a quote or tell where it came from, put quotation marks around what is quoted, and then place the author\’s last name and page number in brackets with a period at the end. The only difference when paraphrasing is that you do not use the quotation marks, but you must still introduce the quote and use an in-text citation. Do not do this (Smith, 42). Do not place a comma in the in-text citation.

-The format for a quote should be: Critical introduction, “the quote” (in-text citation). All quotes in the body of a paper must follow this format.

-Proper format

According to Douglass Adams, author of The Hitchhiker\’s Guide to the Galaxy, “the answer to the ultimate question is 42” (166).

 

-If a source does not use page numbers or have pagination, use a paragraph number. Count down the number of paragraphs to find the paragraph number. A normal in-text citation from a source with page numbers would look like: (Smith 33), (33), or (American Cancer 33). An in-text citation from a source without page numbers, using only a paragraph number, would look like (Smith p.4), (p.4), or (American Cancer p.4). p. means paragraph, not page. Again, p. means paragraph, not page. Only use p. for paragraphs. Do no use p. for pages. For pages, just use the number.

-If a source does not have a specific author, for example, American Cancer Society, then use the first word or two of the beginning of a citation on your Works Cited page for the in-text citation. In this case, the in-text citation should be (American) or (American Cancer). Depending on the type of source, you would have to place the page or paragraph number in the in-text citation. For a source with pages, (American 33) or (American Cancer 33). For a source with paragraphs and no pagination, (American p.5) or (American Cancer p.5). Remember, p. means paragraph, not page.

-To find out what word should be used in an in-text citation, look down the left side of your Works Cited page. Look at the beginning of the citation. There will usually be an author’s last name, so the in-text citation would contain that last name. Example: (Smith 33). The audience can then see an introduction, quote, and an in-text citation in your paper, look down the left side of your Works Cited page, see the beginning of a citation, and know exactly which source you are quoting from. If there is no author, follow the same rule. Look down the left side of the Works Cited page and use the first word or two of the citation in your in-text citation. Example: (American Cancer 33). The audience of your paper can quickly look at your Works Cited page, scan down the citations on it, see the citation that begins with American Cancer, and find which source the quote corresponds to on the Works Cited page. Do not create an in-text citation from information in the body of a source on the Works Cited page.

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-Begin and end paragraphs with your words since it is your paper. Do not begin or end paragraphs with quotation or sentences that contain quotation.

-Whenever you quote someone, always try to say something in your own words about the quote. You should always try to interpret, explain, add to, subtract from, agree with, disagree with, point out faulty logic, or show the reasoning behind a quote. Try not to link too many quotes together. Use quotation for support, but do not let it write or dominate parts of your paper. Always place a comment after a quote…do not just go right into another quote. Writing a paper is not running or linking quotes together. 75% of a paper must be in your own words.

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-Do not quote small, insignificant passages like. Ex: According to Dr. John Smith, author of Duck Lovers, “pets are great” (42). This quote is not critical. Also, it could be applied to any pet in any context. Quote full length sentences and ideas.

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-Missing in-text citations count as plagiarism

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-Use your quotations to support your ideas, not to write the paper for you. For example, begin and end paragraphs with your own words, only use a quoted sentence or two in the middle of a paragraph, and then say something in your own words about your quotation. You can agree with, disagree with, add to, subtract from, or interpret the quotation. You do not want a series of linked quotes that write the paper for you. In other words, do not simply write the first and last sentences of a paragraph in your words and have the rest of the body sentences being quotation. Seventy five percent of a paper should be written in your words. Remember, it is your paper, so it should mostly be written in your own words.

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What is Love

Introduction

Love is one of the most complex topics to debate. People perceive love differently and everyone wants to come up with their own definitions. To some, love can be purely romantic or even purely physical. Others also argue that love is unconditional and only exists among family members. Other people also believe that love is always dynamic and is felt for family, partners, friends, pets, and even objects (Schor 4). Therefore, everyone has their own definition of love based on experiences they have developed over time, making it difficult to come up with a single definition. Therefore, is important to argue the topic because love is one of the words used so often in so many different contexts to the extent that its meaning has been completely watered down (Schor 4). This argument will try to address the wrong accounts of love that people have been supporting to ensure the true meaning of love is instilled in the minds of readers.

In my own opinion, I would define love as the strongest, gradual emotion and attachment that is felt between two individuals, in which sexual intercourse is neither desired nor practiced. This definition of love is also supported by platonic love. People often confuse sexual desires with love and often think they are in love when they are sexually attracted to one another. I believe that love should be based on legitimate reasons other than a sexual feeling (Schor 6). Sexual attraction should be an outcome of love. It should come later after love has existed. Love should be understood as part of a matter of caring about a person for the person she is for her own sake. Some philosophers have regarding this statement as the core of defining love (Schor 6). However, love must always be initiated by one individual to make the other fall in love too. For example, person x will love person y if person x is concerned by and cares about y and has some desire for her well-being for her own sake.

The strong emotions towards the other or any other animal or object are often provoked by certain qualifications of values that one has. Socrates states in his speech that love is yearning for goodness (Amir 7). Socrates concluded that love is always directed towards what is good. For one to love the other person, they must have seen something good about the subject. Plato always explains whatever people do, desire, or strive for, as a direct or circuitous means of acquiring goodness. Parental love towards their children is because they perceive the children as good. One loves a lady due to certain qualities that he perceives as good. For love to exist, good must always exist, which makes the perceiver the desire to own the subject of love (Amir 8). From this Plato concludes that what is truly beautiful must be good and what is truly good must be beautiful. Only a few recognize the object of their love, this object Plato calls the Good or absolute beauty.

Many supporters of romantic love argue that love entails emotions or feelings. Yes, love indeed contains emotions, but even infatuation is mere emotions of sexual attraction towards the other. However, the complex emotional pattern which constitutes love typically involves all the different concurrent emotions that are intuitively identified as an expression of love (Schor 6). These emotions may include recurring episodes of admiration, affection, and tenderness towards the beloved, as well as feeling disappointed and frustrated on behalf of her beloved’s failures, happiness, and pride for her when she succeeds.

My definition of love is opposed to that of romantic love. Romantic love is defined as the love that values non-relational qualities in the beloved and is only sustained by sexual attraction (Langham 38). This kind of definition of love does not take into account the good as mentioned in my definition of love. In this case, non-relational qualities are those that are found in a particular person, such as beauty, sense of humor, or physical appearance. Sexual attraction should indeed exist as a result of love, but it should take time when the lovers have known one another better. in romantic love, the lovers enjoy sexual passion and affection (Ginting 19). Sexual practices should be appreciation for love or it should come naturally after love has occurred. However, it is not always a justification for love because people are sexually attracted to even those they do not love. in romantic

According to Amir (11), sex is completely natural but somehow unimaginative to get what one wants. For individuals to act when they see beauty as if they wanted children is not an intelligent response to love. There is no clear distinction between romantic love and infatuation. Both seem to be an emotional response to sexual attraction, which is opposed to love. If love is the strongest, gradual emotion and attachment that is felt between two individuals, then relationships that are based on sexual attractions are not love (Langham 38). The term gradual means that love waits and is associated with the sense of having someone closer for long-term purposes.

Romantic lovers believe in love at first sight as depicted in the story of Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. What is referred to as love, at first sight, is simply infatuation. Ginting (20) defines infatuation as sexual attraction and physical interaction when there has not been enough time for love to develop. So many people often confuse love infatuation with love. Young people or those who are desperately looking for either love or sex are normally quick at pronouncing their love to strangers.

Infatuation is depicted in the play Romeo and Juliet, which is a romantic love story. Both the main characters thought they were in love, but in the end, they landed one another into pain, agony, loss, and death. Infatuation relationships are normally short-lived and often end in regrets and premium tears (Keinänen 180). In that play, Romeo spots Juliet from across the room and states and gets sexually attracted to her. Their meeting changes his perception of love as they engage in more infatuation characteristics. Their emotions did not care for each other’s wellbeing by reflecting the kind of future they wanted to have (Keinänen 180). Therefore, my definition of love opposes romantic love, especially love at first sight.

Conclusion

Love is a very complicated word to define. There is no perfect definition of love, however, everyone has been defending their definition of what they think love is. In that regard, I believe my definition is the best because it leaves no room for infatuation. It acknowledges that love takes time, to develop gradually. It also acknowledges that love should happen without sexual attraction as the main determinant. Although sexual attraction will come, that will happen sometimes due to closeness, in cases of couples. Love also cares for their beloved ones. These assumptions are supported by various literature.

 

 

Works Cited

Amir, Lydia. “Plato’s theory of love: rationality as passion.” Practical Philosophy 4.3 (2001): 6-14. http://www.society-for-philosophy-in-practice.org/journal/pdf/4-3%2006%20Amir%20-%20Plato%20Love.pdf

Ginting, Adiatmana. “LOVE IN THE WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S SONNET CXVI.” The Seall Journal 2.1 (2021): 19-23. http://jurnal.stkipalmaksum.ac.id/index.php/jellas/article/view/133/142

Keinänen, Nely. “The Pleasures of Recognition: Two Recent Finnish Appropriations of Romeo and Juliet.” Shakespeare 15.2 (2019): 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450918.2018.1531914

Langham, Morgan. “Is Unconditional Love Possible?.” Aporia 31.1-2021. https://aporia.byu.edu/pdfs/lanham-is_unconditional_love_possible.pdf

Schor, Megalie. “What is Love? A Philosophical Inquiry.” Academia, 8 September 2018, https://www.academia.edu/37508442/What_is_Love_A_Philosophical_Inquiry