Controlling Love
The Ethics and Desirability of Using ‘Love Drugs'

This Element presents an original argument for regarding the prospect of 'love drugs' with caution.

Peter Herissone-Kelly (Author)

9781009299053, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 September 2022

75 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 0.5 cm, 0.12 kg

Recent research in neurochemistry has shown there to be a number of chemical compounds that are implicated in the patterns of lust, attraction, and attachment that undergird romantic love. For example, there is evidence that the phenomenon of attachment is associated with the action of oxytocin and vasopressin. There is therefore some reason to suppose that patterns of lust, attraction, and attachment could be regulated via manipulation of these substances in the brain: in other words, by their use as 'love drugs'. A growing bioethical literature asks searching questions about this prospect, and especially about the use of such drugs to enhance or reignite attachment in flagging relationships. This Element examines some of the central arguments on the topic, and sounds a note of caution. It urges that there are reasons to think the states of attachment produced or facilitated by the use of such drugs would not be desirable.

1. Introduction
2. The Core Argument for the Use of Love Drugs
3. The Relationship between Romantic Love and Biology: Avoiding Reductionism
4. The Influence of Endomimetic Love Drugs: The Productive Account and the Facilitative Account
5. The Object of Love, and the Object of the Use of Love Drugs
6. In Search of True Love: The Issue of Authenticity
Notes
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Bio-ethics [PSAD], Public health & preventive medicine [MBN], Medical ethics & professional conduct [MBDC], Sociology [JHB]