<img alt="Dois Policiais"src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.19123950960675051638886975742%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=95aacfcf-e8bb-4df5-a290-2b06047fccb6">Morality has been a problem since the beginning of the philosophical tradition. Although it should be simple, the answers seem to hide or be relative when we find ourselves in a dilemma, which can be even more challenging to handle.This article explores a thought experiment to show the reader how morality demands personal values and how it is necessary to think things through carefully.Morality has played an essential role in the world. The creation of the concept rebuilt societies and was responsible for starting and ending wars. Yet, it is rather complicated to know what is the right thing to do in certain situations.To understand morality, one must realise that there is no such thing as a perfect guide to being morally right all the time. Russian author Leonid Andriev writes a short story on the topic.The story is “The conversion of the Devil”, and it tells the story of a Demon that doesn’t want to be bad anymore. However, evilness is rooted in the Demon, so he seeks the help of a priest. Shockingly, the priest finds the mission very difficult. He realizes that he can’t teach how to be good because the concept is often too far away from the practical matters of life.To understand these dilemmas, let’s do a thought experiment..<img alt="Silver Train"src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.19123950960675051638886975742%2Fimage2.webp?alt=media&token=5e0de111-6cae-4f81-adb2-a722b8ac5fe7">One day, a close friend of yours shows up at your house asking to tell a secret that you can’t share with anyone. They say that while driving, they hit someone, there was no time for slowing down, and the person died on the spot after being run over. However, your friend didn’t call the police and ran away from the scene. The next day, police officers appear at your house and start asking questions. Do you tell the truth leading your friend to incarceration, or do you lie, implying that you don’t know anything about the accident?In such a scenario, what is the right thing to do: Staying loyal to your friend and hide a murderer or break the promise and tell the truth? The answer is both, or neither or something else entirely different. Because the moral path frequently depends on an objective and how the problem relates to you.It is essential, however, to understand that our choices constantly have moral implications. It is rather difficult to follow up on all the nuances and dilemmas. Still, we have a more extensive understanding of our actions by thinking through the events and studying different views on the same topic, which is vital because sometimes immorality goes unnoticed.One good way of being morally guided is to create a personal value set, and in every decision when you’re dwelling on what to do, you pick from the value set and see how it relates to the actions at your disposal. Avoid doing anything that separates you from your most significant values.What would you have done in such a situation, and why?Discuss in the comments.

What is the “Right” Thing to do

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.067500485203443981630900523657%2FVirtue%20ethics%2CUtilitarianism%20and%20Deontology_1.webp?alt=media&token=e33a80b9-8b93-47b4-aeab-48fcb9e30288" alt="File preview" width="740" height="493" /> Morality is a term coined to separate the good or bad thoughts, the right and wrong actions. Morality is subjective; many great philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, and Kant have given us their approach.&nbsp; To understand the basics of morality, let us take an example, you find a 20 dollar note on the floor, the exact amount required for you to buy that pretty new top you saw yesterday. Here, morality will guide you to ask the people around if they lost a twenty, and if nobody claims it, you give it to the police. Even if it is just a twenty note, it is immoral to keep it with you and spend it. The three main approaches to morality are Virtue ethics, Utilitarianism and Deontology.&nbsp; 1.VIRTUE ETHICS: Virtue ethics theory was given to us by Aristotle. It emphasizes virtues and moral character. It says happiness is our highest goal, and it is achievable by cultivating moral virtues. Once we have developed moral integrity, they can be employed automatically. Let us get a deeper understanding by taking an example: You visit your friend's house for dinner, she has recently learnt how to cook, and wants your opinion. Upon taking the first bite, you feel like the flavour is very off; it is bitter and salty. She is looking at you with excitement, waiting for an opinion. You are in a dilemma; being a good friend, you believe if you are honest, she can work harder and improve, but it might end up hurting her feelings. If you lie, she will be happy, and it might make her day. After contemplating the consequences, you decide to be honest with her. You chose honesty; you took a moral decision. As per virtue ethics, it soon becomes a personality trait if you decide to be honest at times.&nbsp; Virtue ethics can also be summed up as "fake it till you make it." 2.DEONTOLOGY: "An action, to have moral worth, must be done from duty."- Immanuel Kant. Immanuel Kant is one of the most famous philosophers associated with this approach. In Deontology, one is given a set of duties based on what their intuition believes is right and wrong, and one obeys them. Deontology eradicates subjectivity by focusing only on following the duties and not weighing the consequences of one's action. For example, you are a software engineer, and only you know how to hack into the system to stop the missile launch. Hacking is unethical; even if it might save thousands of lives, Deontology will prevent you from hacking. As previously stated, it does not weigh the consequences of the action and only focuses on following the suitable duties. 3.UTILITARIANISM: In Deontology, we studied that we need to obey the duties irrespective of the consequences; however, in utilitarianism, it is otherwise. It believes in taking the action that has the outcome benefiting the majority. It is a species of consequentialism; It evaluates the activity on the possibility of its consequence. In utilitarianism, happiness or pleasure are the only things that have intrinsic value. Continuing the example from Deontology, if we apply the utilitarian approach to the situation, it would suggest that since the one immoral activity will allow thousands of lives to be happy, the software engineer should go ahead.&nbsp; However, the only limitation here is that we cannot always be accurate on the possible outcome. The engineer might hack into the system successfully but fails to prevent the missile launch.&nbsp;So which school of thought do you think we should live by?&nbsp; Share your thoughts in the comments.

Virtue Ethics, Deontology and Utilitarianism

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0321242839574068561628682884185%2FThe%20History%20of%20Art_1.webp?alt=media&token=492fd2a3-6df3-4bc5-850d-ba4b2dcfe727" alt="File preview" width="741" height="493" /> There have been times where words were not sufficient to convey a message; in such a situation, one sought help from art. Art is a constant, a means of communication for humans from the stone age to the twenty-first century. Art, along with humankind, has significantly evolved.&nbsp; We can broadly classify the different phases of evolution in the art world in eight periods: 1.STONE AGE ART(30,000 BCE- 3,000 BCE): The earliest art belongs to the stone age period. As the name suggests, stones were prominent. Petroglyphs, carving on hard protected surfaces like cave walls, were the most common. People refer to the period as prehistoric art as it existed before recorded history.&nbsp; We further divide the stone age into three periods; with development in tools observed over time: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Paleolithic period (30,000 BCE-10,000 BCE)</li> </ul> &nbsp;The term palaeolithic means old stone age. The artworks of this phase mainly consist of small sculptures, carvings on walls and paintings. In this period, people put stone tools to use for something other than survival for the first time. The structures were mainly figurines of animals, small but realistic.&nbsp; The primary materials used were ivory, bone, stone, and clay&mdash;Bhimbetka Petroglyphs, the oldest known prehistoric art discovered in India's quartzite caves.&nbsp; <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0321242839574068561628682884185%2FThe%20History%20of%20Art_2.webp?alt=media&token=28fd4ef4-f17d-4aed-9f73-9bc51049b768" alt="File preview" width="740" height="555" /> Bhimbetka Petroglyphs&nbsp;&nbsp; <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Mesolithic period (10,000 BCE- 3,000 BCE)</li> </ul> &nbsp;This period marked the end of the ice age and a switch to more temperate conditions. Due to this change, the humans had to adapt to a new type of living, leaving behind their caves. They switched to more settled agricultural communities. The art now provided keener details and better narration. Ceramics also started gaining popularity in this period. The most intriguing artwork of this time consists of rock art, similar to the palaeolithic period on vertical cliffs or natural rocks. <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Neolithic period (8,000 BCE- 3,000 BCE)</li> </ul> &nbsp;In this era, weaving and pottery became prominent as civilization settled and people shifted from nomadic to permanent settlements. The most exciting creations from this time were the architecture that featured large stone structures called the megaliths. This period, however, mainly focused on pottery, the majority found in the region of Mesopotamia.&nbsp; 2.BRONZE AGE ART (3,000 BCE-1,100 BCE)&nbsp; This period highlights the production of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. With advancements in the production of metalwork, there was a rise in skilled workers. The use of stone became less popular. The art world saw some agile development as metals were more flexible, the sculptures and artefacts made were more detailed and charming. People observed the earliest art in the Mesopotamia region, Sumerian art. Writing first began in Mesopotamia as the nation greatly prospered, and people started focusing on art, literature, culture and religion. Egyptian art also rose in the form of monumental architecture. Lost wax casting was one of the most common ways used for making sculptures out of bronze. The oldest cast bronze sculpture is the 'DANCING GIRL' in Mohenjo Daro. <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0321242839574068561628682884185%2FThe%20History%20of%20Art_3.webp?alt=media&token=73ec9296-48f2-4e19-9ecc-28561fbcbf7a" alt="File preview" width="400" height="776" /> The Dancing girl in Mohenjo Daro 3.IRON AGE ART (1,100 BCE-200 BCE) As the name suggests, the use of iron became more prominent in this period. It was the last phase of the prehistory period. It was more economical to mine iron than bronze, and it was more substantial, making it extremely popular and abundantly available. In this reign, greek art gained attention in the Mediterranean basin. However, near the end of the iron age, greek art started declining, and Persian and Egyptian art became more dominating. 4.MEDIEVAL ART (5th- 15th century) Medieval art was produced in Europe during the middle ages; it includes sculptures, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, and metalwork.&nbsp; Based on time, we can classify medieval art into: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">The Romanesque (11th-12th century)&nbsp;</li> </ul> Its name comes from the fact that its primary basis is on early Christian art in Rome. The architecture built in this reign, mainly churches, monasteries and temples, symbolized the growing wealth in Europe and the power of church monasteries. The characteristics of these buildings are thick stone walls, semi-circular arches with durable construction. Sculptures were also famous; made out of stone, based on the iconography of the bible. Thousands of artisans from Rome and Greek created an eastern, Christian image known as byzantine art. Other types of popular art include illuminated manuscripts and stained glass.&nbsp; <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0321242839574068561628682884185%2FThe%20History%20of%20Art_4.webp?alt=media&token=21720770-9d02-4897-a52c-fd2ce753cc65" alt="File preview" width="400" height="515" /> Chriatian Byzantine Art <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">The Gothic (12th-15th century)&nbsp;</li> </ul> It derives its name from the Goths that ruled France. The gothic architecture offered revolutionary structural advancements such as flying buttresses, ribbed vaults(formed by two arches across diagonally) and decorative pinnacles, contributing to taller and lighter buildings. Sculptures in the gothic period were more realistic images; they characterized angels, saints and biblical figures.&nbsp; Paintings also became more lifelike, and with the gradual development in Europe, artists soon started taking an interest in non-religious subjects.&nbsp; 5.THE RENAISSANCE (14th-16th century) The renaissance dominated Italy and the majority of Europe; the people in this reign made their appearance different from that of the medieval period. There was a great revival of learning of ancient Greece and Rome. The artist started rejecting the byzantine form of art and preferred a more realistic depiction of humans and space. The art from this time also represented other aspects, such as mythology. Some of the most famous masters of this time are Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.&nbsp; 6.THE POST-RENAISSANCE (16th-18th century)&nbsp; This reign was followed by: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Mannerism (16th century)&nbsp;</li> </ul> Mannerism, opposed to naturalism in art, was notable for its artificiality. The mannerist artist took paintings established during the renaissance and added a twist by exaggerating them, giving them an extravagant aesthetic to classicism. <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Baroque (17th-18th century)&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> </ul> The main principles of art in this reign was extravagance, ornateness and decorated details. The link between the catholic church and this art form was inseparable.&nbsp; <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Rococo (mid 17th-18th century)&nbsp;</li> </ul> Rococo, unlike Baroque, emphasized opulence, gratefulness and lightness. It emerged in France. Unlike another art form, it depicted light-hearted romance and carefree aristocratic life.&nbsp; 7.MODERN ART (18th-19th century) The Industrial Revolution led to the birth of modern art. In previous art forms, the art depicted religion and mythology. However, in the 19th-century, artists created art based on their personal experience and their chosen topics. The art produced in this reign showcased the artists' interest in re-imagining, interpreting and rejecting previous art styles.&nbsp; Some famous artworks are Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso, The Large Bathers by Paul C&eacute;zanne and Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet.&nbsp; The different types of modern art are:&nbsp; <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Impressionism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Post Impressionism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Fauvism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Expressionism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Cubism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Surrealism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Abstract Expressionism&nbsp;</li> </ul> &nbsp;8.CONTEMPORARY ART (21st century) Contemporary art means art; painting, sculpture, photography, video art, installation and production are performed today. It allows the artist to reflect upon the social issues related to humanity in today's world. High-end technology and cultural diversity globally surrounds artists in today's time. This form of art stands out because of its lack of organization, uniformity and ideology.&nbsp; The different types of contemporary art are: <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.0321242839574068561628682884185%2FThe%20History%20of%20Art_5.webp?alt=media&token=460edc0d-69c6-4de1-a10a-74c749f22f79" alt="File preview" width="740" height="555" /> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Pop art&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Photorealism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Conceptualism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Minimalism&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Performance art&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Installation art&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Earth art&nbsp;</li> </ul> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Street art&nbsp;</li> </ul>

The History of Art

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.088762256553584831628072882401%2FThe%20Illusion%20of%20Happiness_AyushDubey_1.webp?alt=media&token=6b125df9-b06f-435c-8713-875570e3839e" alt="" width="764" height="509" />Human beings seek happiness, and the majority of the activity we perform is to achieve a certain amount of joy, be it in any form. For some people, the pursuit of happiness summarizes their existence. However, there are times when we think about what exactly we are trying to achieve when we talk about happiness.Everyone has different opinions about happiness. These differences make it challenging to explain happiness in a general, all-inclusive manner. There are times when the pursuit of happiness itself seems mundane, and this realization makes us feel delusional. Delusional because we realize that we have been dreaming of something so abstract and naive.Happiness is never an end in itself because the things that make us happy tell a lot about our nature itself. Therefore, we can use happiness to go within and think about the true nature of human existence. Happiness has its origin in struggle, and accepting this truth will save us from a lot of disappointment. The funny thing is that we desire happiness because we want to escape our sufferings. However, the condition of human beings is that first, we toil and then realize that we have to struggle some more, and from time to time, we are lucky enough to experience a momentary bliss as we go through life.When Camus said the struggle itself towards the height is enough to fill a man&rsquo;s heart, living this life alone is enough to make us feel fulfilled. However, the more we live and go through life, the more we realize that suffering is universal. Thus, our sole purpose must be to create subjective meaning and strive through struggle instead of longing for happiness.Subjective meaning is essential for happiness because having a personal purpose is a constructive illusion. It allows us to attach importance to our endless sufferings. We come to realize that our fate is tragic, and there&rsquo;s no one coming to rescue us. Yet we enjoy our severe hardship, for the fruits of our agony are in the form of happiness. This realization makes us feel fulfilled even for a brief period, and if true happiness does exist, it is in this realization. Because of this reason, all of us occupy ourselves. We do it to fill the eternal void in our life. The more we indulge in meaningful activities, the more we realize that every instance of our life can form meaning in itself if we let it.&nbsp;Thus, going through these petty days makes us realise that happiness was never and will never be a destination in the end. It is instead a path, a journey, and being alive with a crippling sense of absurdity is a task and a reward in itself. The reason being that life justifies itself, and one can only understand this as one lives through the questions and the daily struggle. At the same time, discovering something sustainable will kindle hope for us and others around them, even for a brief time. Happiness follows when we realize that joy and absurdity are inseparable.We indeed use our future to escape our present. We live in those moments where we find peace; it can be in the form of living the memories or dreaming about the future. So one needs a standpoint about where one&rsquo;s existence is heading, and that abstract, hopeful idea can inspire us. So if we continue to strive for meaning that we find sustainable despite the realization that we shall cease to exist in the end, we are no less than gods, for we are truly conscious of our fate and our existence.&nbsp;Thus, happiness is an illusion. We constantly misinterpret the root essence of happiness, and it isn&rsquo;t something to be locked inside a vault or something which will stay with us forever. We cannot pursue happiness, and the more we seek it, the more it feels like sand in our palms. On the other hand, we must commit to a cause that we find meaningful and sustain ourselves and others around us. Use the absurdity of your existence to honor your sufferings and embrace the existential dread which arises in the form of existential agony. We are the modern Sisyphus.&nbsp;

The Illusion of Happiness

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.10951663473921981628072883027%2FMEDIA%20AND%20LOVE_AanviJain_1.webp?alt=media&token=5dc42055-2f14-400a-b2aa-cde4c8b21b38" alt="" width="764" height="573" /> Love is an abstract concept, a complicated emotion. The greatest men of all time couldn't answer what love is. Many tried to give us a definition, but many believe it's beyond our understanding.&nbsp; So how much does the media know? Media made all of us believe that a perfect person is waiting for us. Someone whom the day we meet, our lives will be complete&mdash;a person who answers all our problems All the hope they have given us without any solid proof. Can our life also be a fairy tale like Cinderella with our soulmates going around the globe looking for us? The honest answer to this is a bummer for all; not all love stories are like Cinderella. While growing up, we saw perfect couples with romantic bickering. Many filmmakers and authors tried to capture the true essence of love by providing us with pieces such as The Notebook or Fault in our stars. Such creations did give us a desire for a dreamy love story and the perfect relationship but what it did not show us is that no relationship is perfect. Love is not as simple; it takes more than the presence of two individuals attracted to each other. It includes trust, selflessness, compromises from both ends.&nbsp; The best graphics we see on searching about love are people smiling with red hearts all around them. But as it is rightly said, all glitters are not gold. People can be in love and yet fight; they are not always happy with each other. There are disputes and conflicts.&nbsp; Another aspect of love we see in the media are couples celebrating their love by giving thoughtful gifts, going out for romantic dinners, and always spending time with each other. But in reality, that is not the case. Two individuals might not make romantic gestures regularly, but that doesn't change the fact that they love each other. They can still be as happy as other couples. The media cannot filter the toxic relationships, they have failed to highlight this issue, and those suffering are afraid to speak up. Love can make a person blind to the damage they are causing to their partner. It is a must to make everyone aware of the red flags to prevent them from the worst. Similarly, even abusive relationships are a subject of great importance. Not everyone is happy; some are hurting mentally or physically. Media is an integral part of our lives; it greatly influences our beliefs. But what we see there is not always true. Love is not all rainbows and glitters; it's not all smiles. The media only shows what they think the people like to see, and not what's true. Hence, we shouldn't be quickly captivated by everything they show us. What has been your experience with love?

Media and Love

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.063352219396265011628072882664%2FThe%20Three%20Faces%20Of%20Love_AyushDubey_1.webp?alt=media&token=d91b8018-48f3-4ae4-b37e-2d524bebbfb5" alt="" width="783" height="560" />Love is fodder for poets, a form of expression for artists, a mystery for science, and a dilemma for philosophers. Everyone strives to understand and define love from their perspective. Yet love is a universal state free from the bonds of personal inclination.&nbsp;Everyone craves love. Try all you can, but you can never do away with the fleeting sense of love. Man is a social animal who hopes with the help of love. Love is a significant driving force for the majority of our actions.&nbsp;The quest to know about the true nature of love is a complex feat to achieve. The triangular theory of love is one theory that explains the three faces of love psychologically.Robert Sternberg states that love comprises three components: Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment/Decision. The Intimacy component encompasses feelings of closeness, affection, and connectedness. The Passion component comprises the motivational drives relating to sex, physical proximity, and romance. This component symbolizes intense, physiologically arousing feelings of attraction. Finally, the third aspect of love, the Decision/Commitment, embodies both the initial cognition that one loves another person and the long-term determination to maintain that love.People can experience these three aspects of love in entirely different ways. Thus, these three components can create eight different types of love depending on which of the three components are present or missing from a relationship.&nbsp;Table 1: The Combinations of Love&nbsp;<table style="width: 604.6px; border-color: #000000; height: 200px;" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Type of love&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Intimacy </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Passion </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Decision/ Commitment&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Nonlove&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Liking&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Infatuated love&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Empty love&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Romantic love&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Companionate love&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Fatuous love&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Absent&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width: 156px;"> Consummate love&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 97px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 104px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> <td style="width: 216.6px;"> Present&nbsp; </td> </tr> </tbody></table>From the table, nonlove refers to people who have the most casual relationships. It consists of the absence of the three components of love. Liking develops when only intimacy is present; Infatuated love exists when only passion exists between the partners, and empty love exists when only decision/ commitment exists between the partners.&nbsp;Other types of love involve a mix of two or more components. For instance, romantic love occurs when intimacy and passion are present and companionate love when intimacy and decision/ commitment occur jointly. When two people experience romantic love, they report physical attraction and emotional connection, but they do not necessarily view the relationship as lasting. On the other hand, companionate love may occur in long-lasting relationships in which physical passion has taken a back seat.&nbsp;Fatuous love exists when passion and decision/commitment, without intimacy, are present. Fatuous love is mindless loving in which there is no emotional bond between the partners.&nbsp;Finally, the eighth kind of love is consummate love. In consummate love, all three components of love are present. Although one might assume that consummate love represents the ideal love, this isn't the case. On the contrary, many long-lasting and entirely satisfactional relationships encompass different types of love other than consummate love. Furthermore, the kind of love that predominates in a relationship varies over time.Throughout a relationship, the three aspects of love &mdash; intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment - vary in strength. In healthy, prosperous, and loving relationships, the level of decision/ commitment peaks and remains relatively stable. On the other hand, passion tends to peak early in the relationship but then declines and levels off. Intimacy also increases fairly rapidly but can continue to grow over time.The beauty of Sternberg's triangular theory of love is that it emphasizes both the complexity of love and its dynamic, ever-evolving nature. As people mature, so do their relationships, both with themselves and with others. Love is about being agile. Love is about embracing &nbsp;&nbsp;

The Three Faces Of Love

<img alt="" src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.157900990944576771635808995425%2Fimage1.webp?alt=media&token=dcb24d54-1974-4de3-98ce-b12e08d40c01" > The imperfect is our paradise, Wallace Stevens wrote. However, it isn&#39;t just our paradise; it is also our world. Human beings are innately curious. We as a species make extensive efforts to know more about ourselves and the world around us. The organ between our ears helps us make sense of subtle patterns in the randomness of life. The brain is where we live. The evolution of the human brain paved the way for the emergence of several mechanisms to deal with our imperfect world. Language, stories, literature, and poetry; however, the most excellent method acquired by humans to deal with the reality of this world is art. It plays a pivotal role in the psychological development of human beings. It helps us celebrate life. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, proposed that the human mind consists of three aspects. The Conscious, the Subconscious, and the Unconscious. The Conscious&nbsp;helps us become aware of ourselves and our surrounding environment. The Subconscious consists of memories that one can quickly bring into awareness. Finally, the Unconscious consists of repressed desires and conflicts during childhood. One cannot easily retrieve the memories of the unconscious mind. Moreover, the unconscious mind expresses itself in symbolic forms. The main ways are through dreams, a slip of the tongue (Freudian slip), and free association. Therefore, dreams can act as the door to the unconscious. Freud stated that there are two components of a dream. The latent content and the manifest content. The manifest content is actual and the apparent content of a dream. Meanwhile, the latent content is the hidden meaning of a dream. Jung, however, portrayed a different picture about dreams. According to Jung, dreams were the psyche&#39;s effort to represent significant aspects of one&#39;s life. Dreams are a compass for the mind. Dreams help the individual to attain a sense of individuality. When a person individuates, they better understand that their sense of self is separate from their parents and other significant people who help them develop their conscience during their growing years. There exists a peculiar relationship between the unconscious, dreams, and art. Surrealism is an artistic and literary movement that began in Europe in the early 1920s. It features fantastic, whimsical, and dreamlike images that express an alternate reality, which the members of this movement refer to as &ldquo;surreality&rdquo; (Breton 1972). Surrealists employ a variety of techniques derived from psychology and alchemy, as well as from previous artistic movements, to induce the inspiration necessary to experience and express this &ldquo;surreality.&rdquo; Surrealism is not merely a creative movement but is also a way of life with strong philosophical underpinnings. The Surrealists&rsquo; project bridges the gap between ordinary wake-state consciousness and those more unconscious processes associated with dreams, imagination, illusion, and madness (Colville 1991). Breton further states the idea of Surrealism aims at the total recovery of our psychic force by nothing other than the dizzying descent into ourselves. The systematic illumination of hidden places and the darkening of other places, the never ending shift into the midst of forbidden territory (Breton 1972). Artists associated with this movement are Man Ray, Rene&acute; Magritte, Salvador Dal&#305;&acute;, Andre&acute; Breton, Max Ernst, Giorgio de Chirico, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, and Yves Tanguy, among others (Alexandrian 1985; Waldberg 1971). One of the techniques employed by Surrealists was automatism, a technique inspired by spiritualism in which the artist places him-or herself in a passive, receptive state, forgets about the usual parameters of one&rsquo;s creative or artistic abilities, and writes or paints quickly without any preconceived subject in mind (Breton 1972). Art rebalances our psyche. It is a universal mental concept that is present in all the members of the human species. An angry individual can find peace in art, while an overly optimistic individual can learn to be somewhat reasonable by understanding the grim aspects of life through art. The hopeless stumble on hope, and the lonely find solace in art Therefore, to conclude, art enables us to delve deeper into our psyche. Art permeates our reality and helps us to express ourselves unconditionally. Art enables us to appreciate our suffering. Art redirects our attention to the more critical aspects of our life. Without art, life would be a tragedy. Thus, art transforms tragedy into beauty. Reference: Moore, C. (2014). Surrealism, Religion and Psychology. Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion .

Art: A Doorway Into The Unconscious 

<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.038609244985196911630871191338%2FThe%20Distance%20Embracing%20Model%20Of%20Art_2.webp?alt=media&token=85b20cb9-8d38-4ad6-afbb-327842803a74" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" />Human beings have an inborn desire to express themselves. We as a species are curious, and one way to expand our need for curiosity is through the arts. Art reinforces our imagination and creativity. It enables us to dive deeper into the human consciousness. Art acts as a medium to express our desires and conflicts with a sense of wonder and fascination. It is a mechanism to negotiate with reality. An artist picks up a brush to make peace with their past and hope for a better future.Art makes our reality less ugly, for the colors fill our hearts and mind with a temporary sense of awe. Art keeps us afloat and acts as an emotional compass. Artworks serve as pieces of the puzzle for human existence.&nbsp;Art is a beautiful way of documenting reality, paired with creativity. Through art, we can travel through time and better understand the complexity of our past. Art creates a space where we can communicate with the artist, the creator, through expressions, in any form.&nbsp;Negative emotions are an essential resource for the arts. Negative emotions bring about intense involvement, high memorability and are influential in gripping our attention. Thus, they hold a special place in the memory of events in our life. A fine piece of art attempts to achieve the given characteristics. Thus, art that leads to negative emotions etches a saga in our memory.&nbsp;<img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/creed-community.appspot.com/o/images%2F0.038609244985196911630871191338%2FThe%20Distance%20Embracing%20Model%20Of%20Art_1.webp?alt=media&token=659d27f1-b221-4763-858d-1691751f8957" alt="File preview" width="700" height="466" />The theory of tragedy proposed by Aristotle states that the main aim of tragedy is to bring about a catharsis of spectators &mdash; to give rise to emotions of pity, fear, and hope. So that the spectators leave the theatre feeling cleansed and uplifted. Art is therapeutic. However, the theory of tragedy sounds like a profound contradiction because we want to be happy, right? We seek happiness in art. So why do art forms which lead to negative emotions move us? Since Greek and Latin antiquity, treatises on rhetoric and poetics widely assume that artworks compete for attention, intense emotional involvement, and high memorability (Lausberg 1998; Quintilian 1920). Recent psychological research has provided evidence that many negative emotions have a powerful grip on attention, are intensely felt, are less prone to fade or return to baseline level than positive emotions, and often have access to privileged storage in memory (Cacioppo &amp; Gardner 1999; Frijda 1988; Larsen &amp; Prizmic 2008; Musch &amp; Klauer 2003; Rozin &amp; Royzman 2001; Vaish et al. 2008). The formula "bad is stronger than good" (Baumeister et al. 2001) provocatively summarizes this line of research.&nbsp;The psychologist Winfried Menninghuas has offered the 'distance - embracing' model to explain why we love and appreciate art that brings about negative feelings. Art invites us to embrace our negative emotions. Through art, we learn to sit with the uncomfortable feelings which were unexpressed. Art unearths the feelings that reside in the hidden corners of our minds. Research into different types of pleasure has shown that intellectual and emotional pleasures (including those of art reception) routinely "encompass negative emotions like sadness &hellip; and positive emotions that entail complex appraisal" (Dub&eacute;&amp;LeBel2003,p.291; see also Berenbaum 2002). In contrast, physical pleasures tend to be least affected by concomitant negative emotions (Dub&eacute; &amp; Le Bel 2003).&nbsp;However, when we experience negative emotions while seeing any art form, we distance ourselves from these negative emotions and control them. Thus, through this process, we better understand ourselves and our unexpressed hidden self. Importantly, recent research has shown that chills and goosebumps in art contexts are physiological correlates of states of being emotionally moved (Benedek &amp; Kaernbach 2011; Wassiliwizky et al. 2015).Therefore, we can conclude that art is a way of stumbling on a truth. The fact that life consists of ingrained suffering. Yet, art preserves the pieces of humanity by acting as a mirror for humans. We resort to the idea of art when we experience sorrow. No matter how broken one is, art can mend and comfort even the torn souls.Art is mood, an emotion, a behavior because, through art, one discovers a medium of expression. It helps us connect with our deeper self and realize that true beauty exists in tragedy. Humans are an elegant tragedy, and art molds us into beings of higher consciousness.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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