Love fills Ida Noyes as University of Chicago professors muse on love and sex

October 2006—Over 300 students packed into Ida Noyes Hall Cloister Club to hear the musings of an all-star cast of University of Chicago professors on the challenging topic of love. The engaging and humorous discussion featured psychology professor Martha McClintock, Classics professor James Redfield, and social sciences professor Bertram Cohler in a talk moderated by Comparative Human Development Chair David Orlinsky.

Professor Martha McClintock’s talk, entitled “Love at first whiff,” discussed the biological perspective of love. Professor McClintock described how pheremones are used unconsciously to determine compatability with those that we love.

Professor James Redfield sketched out the Greek idea of eros, “a cosmic force” different from filia, which means friendship or kinship. Eros, or falling in love, “sort of hits you like hitting the pavement,” said Redfield. According to Plato, falling in love means “you see the god in a person” because you idealize him or her. But eros doesn’t last.

Psychologist Professor Bertram Cohler presented Freud’s theory of love. “In many ways, you love only as you love your mother,” Cohler said, explaining that your mother, the first person you love, becomes your lifelong model for love.

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“Scholars talk love, sex in arousing discussion” - Chicago Maroon, October 17, 2006

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