Agape – selfless, unconditional love and care for others

Agape

Agape is a noun derived from ancient Greek. It describes a sense of selfless and unconditional love and a deep sense of supportive care for others.

Its origins are often linked to early Greek philosophers including Aristotle, as well as early Christian writers, and it’s increasingly being studied in neuroscience and other fields due to its association with individual and group wellbeing. It’s often associated with altruism and wellbeing.

Why Should We Care?

Professionals in different fields including psychology and neuroscience are increasingly interested in the experience and impacts of agape and there is a strong view that it contributes very positively to individual and collective wellbeing. We know from lots of studies (and we cover this elsewhere) that undertaking actions of kindness and engaging in unconditional loving acts towards others can improve an individuals wellbeing and emotional health and reduce their stress.

It seems that from a neurobiological perspective, these acts of kindness release oxytocin and endorphins, which are known to elevate mood and create a sense of pleasure. Interestingly, it seems that agape also stimulates the pre-frontal cortex (associated with decision making, rational thought, empathy and social behaviour), which can heighten both the sense of social connectedness and an individual’s emotional regulation. Furthermore, it also stimulates the vagus nerve, reducing stress and promoting relaxation. This is all clearly great and contributes to better physical and mental health.

As we mention elsewhere, some of the findings from the world of neuroscience overlap with and support practices from several areas of care provision, self-care and some spiritual practices. In this instance, the principles of agape align with modern therapeutic practices such as mindfulness and compassion-focused therapy. These approaches encourage individuals to cultivate kindness and compassion towards themselves and others, leading to improved mental health outcomes.

Learning More

This is all still a bit new to us, so we’re still learning about it. That said, we know that the charity Mind in the UK has done some work that explores the benefits of undertaking acts of kindness, so probably worth exploring.

The place where we have actually learned most about agape so far is from John Vervaeke’s lecture series / podcast “Awakening from the Meaning Crisis” (link is to youtube).

We talk a lot about the importance and power of connection, understanding and kindness and we think that agape is a great word for the experiences that sit at the center of this nexus. As a highly social species, it makes evolutionary sense that we would have reward mechanisms associated with socially beneficial acts. It looks like there is experiential and neuro-scientific evidence to back this up.