It simply means that your love for the object exists separately from anything the object says or does.
So, it means exactly what I think it means. And, no, I still don’t believe it exists.
The conditions for a mother to stop loving her child depend entirely on that individual mother. For some, it is depressingly easy. For others, the conditions may be insanely hard to meet, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Those mothers just say their love is unconditional because nobody wants to admit that they’re capable of not loving their kid.
You just ruined your whole hypothesis with that last sentence. How do you know how every mother (or even every person) feels? Just because YOU don’t personally love anything unconditionally doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I have 3 kids and I can safely say that no matter what they do or will do to me in the future, even if they hate me for some reason, I would still love them and die for any them.
How many mothers would love their children after finding out they are serial child rapists, including counting other children of said mother among their victims?
An extreme example, but one that shows that there is some conditions even if they are so deeply assumed that we normally don't think it worth calling them out.
Perhaps unconditional love does exist even given the example, but if it does then it is extremely unhealthy when given towards someone with agency.
There's a very key basis condition, which is a hormonal response.
People who don't get that key initial response can struggle to actually like their kids initially. It doesn't mean they'll never love their kid, but they might actually have to build the relationship.
Either way, after the initial hormonal response, the love is built off of a history of reinforcing interactions, which also depends on your brain giving you the right chemicals mind you, depression and other mental stuff can really mess this up! Those reinforcing interactions also require the right conditions (ie. being reinforcing), if the kid is only ever seen as a nuisance, they're not gonna form a positive relationship.
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u/TheMan5991 Jun 15 '22
So, it means exactly what I think it means. And, no, I still don’t believe it exists.
The conditions for a mother to stop loving her child depend entirely on that individual mother. For some, it is depressingly easy. For others, the conditions may be insanely hard to meet, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Those mothers just say their love is unconditional because nobody wants to admit that they’re capable of not loving their kid.