Love Potion #9
May. 25th, 2010 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqI was thinking about love potions recently. Let's suppose they existed. If you drank one, you fall in love with the next member of the appropriate gender that you see. Let's further suppose that these things were tightly regulated (lest they turn into the world's most effective and long-term date-rape drug). The effect of this potion is as close to true love (whatever that is) as can be - the only difference being the after-the-fact knowledge that you drank a magic potion.
In this world, you and a partner could opt to take the potion under controlled circumstances (isolated from everyone so that you'd have to look at each other). Contracts would be signed prior to the event, and background interviews would be conducted to make sure no one was being coerced.
Could you imagine a situation where you would do such a thing? Would you need to be in love to start with, or at least "serious like".
Now suppose you didn't have a partner, but the Powers That Be would still allow this as some kind of match-making service. Would you do it then?
[I wanted to turn this into some kind of poll, but just couldn't work it in a poll-like fashion, so long form will have to do]
Personally, I'd likely second guess myself. I'd wonder if the feelings I had were genuine under the circumstances. This wouldn't necessarily stop me from doing it, but it would happen in one of my moments of weakness, when I was convinced there was no other way. I have a weakness for the idea given that asking women out on dates scares me far more then being in a relationship does. I'd love to skip past all the initial anxiety-provoking steps. There's my bias. In the end, I wouldn't have a problem with it in general and I could probably be easily convinced to do it personally.
Could we consider this an act of free will, or a subversion of it? On the one hand, you are making a conscious (presumably rational) decision to fall in love. On the other hand, in the real world, the endorphins we feel (the Poly folk call it New Relationship Energy) are not under our conscious control. People can't really change who they're attracted to. There's people I wish I were attracted to, and people I wish I weren't.
Would a society with arranged marriages and love potions be better or worse then one with the former but not the latter?
This isn't the first time I've speculated about alternate worlds with differing natures of love.
I don't have a lot of answers as yet, mostly just grooving on imagining the possibilities and unintended ramifications.
In this world, you and a partner could opt to take the potion under controlled circumstances (isolated from everyone so that you'd have to look at each other). Contracts would be signed prior to the event, and background interviews would be conducted to make sure no one was being coerced.
Could you imagine a situation where you would do such a thing? Would you need to be in love to start with, or at least "serious like".
Now suppose you didn't have a partner, but the Powers That Be would still allow this as some kind of match-making service. Would you do it then?
[I wanted to turn this into some kind of poll, but just couldn't work it in a poll-like fashion, so long form will have to do]
Personally, I'd likely second guess myself. I'd wonder if the feelings I had were genuine under the circumstances. This wouldn't necessarily stop me from doing it, but it would happen in one of my moments of weakness, when I was convinced there was no other way. I have a weakness for the idea given that asking women out on dates scares me far more then being in a relationship does. I'd love to skip past all the initial anxiety-provoking steps. There's my bias. In the end, I wouldn't have a problem with it in general and I could probably be easily convinced to do it personally.
Could we consider this an act of free will, or a subversion of it? On the one hand, you are making a conscious (presumably rational) decision to fall in love. On the other hand, in the real world, the endorphins we feel (the Poly folk call it New Relationship Energy) are not under our conscious control. People can't really change who they're attracted to. There's people I wish I were attracted to, and people I wish I weren't.
Would a society with arranged marriages and love potions be better or worse then one with the former but not the latter?
This isn't the first time I've speculated about alternate worlds with differing natures of love.
I don't have a lot of answers as yet, mostly just grooving on imagining the possibilities and unintended ramifications.
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 05:04 am (UTC)"Mr. President, Mr. President! Is it true that your wife was coerced into marriage with the illegal use of love potion #9??"
no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 07:41 am (UTC)So no, I would not go for a potion of any kind.
As a general rule, I'm against arranged marriage. What if you're stuck with someone you'd really rather just beat the shit out of followed by a pillow smothering?
no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 01:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 05:18 pm (UTC)Imagine a relationship where one person is abusive. Under normal circumstances it's hard enough to get out of that relationship. Add in an un-natural "love" and abused spouses would never leave, never get help.
As someone who chose very poorly on previous "love", I would hate to have taken a potion that would mean I missed out on the very wonderful, true love I have now. No lobster, no Miss K, no wonderful life that I have. I wouldn't give up that life for the world.