The anthropological study of romantic (or passionate) love is virtually nonexistent
due to the widespread belief that romantic love is unique to Euro-American
culture. This belief is by no means confined to anthropology. The historian
Philippe Aries (1962), for example, argues that affection was of secondary
importance to more utilitarian ambitions throughout much of European history.
Lawrence Stone (1988:16) goes further, insisting that "if romantic love ever existed
outside of Europe, it only arose among the nonwestern nation-states' elite who had
the time to cultivate an aesthetic appreciation for subjective experiences."
Underlying these Eurocentric views is the assumption that modernization and the
rise of individualism are directly linked to the appearance of romantic notions of
love.
The validity of an affectionless past is challenged by some historians who draw
upon the insights of an earlier generation of......
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