The Ordering Principle of Love: How Order Arises from Chaos and Sustains Life

This episode challenges conventional perceptions of love, moving beyond its common association with warm, fuzzy feelings or even chaotic passion. Dr. Taraban introduces a spiritual template for understanding love, drawing insights from the concept of an omnibenevolent higher power's relationship with the created universe. From this perspective, love is revealed not as disorder, but as a fundamental ordering principle. The central argument posits that order is a profoundly neglected, yet crucial, aspect of love, essential for the very possibility and flourishing of life on Earth.\n\nA key distinction is made between the popular notion of love as a "whirlwind that sweeps into people's lives and turns everything upside down" and the proposed view of love as an inherent force for structure and organization. The podcast references Greek mythology, specifically Eros, the god of love, being the son of Chaos, the god of primordial disorder. This mythological connection suggests that love emerges not despite chaos, but actively *from* it, by imposing order. This redefines love from a potentially disruptive emotional state to a foundational, constructive cosmic principle.\n\nWhile not offering direct self-help recommendations, the episode provides a profound insight that encourages a re-evaluation of what constitutes love. By recognizing the pervasive order in natural phenomena—such as the predictable progression of seasons, the intricate organization of the human body, or the clear separation of night and day—listeners are invited to perceive love in the underlying structure and predictability of existence itself. The implicit call to action is to acknowledge and appreciate this "neglected form of love" in both the mundane and the grand cosmic scale.\n\nThis perspective carries broader implications for understanding well-being and prosperity. The podcast asserts that "life let alone the things that make life worth living cannot exist in a chaotic environment." Consequently, love, understood as an ordering principle, is presented not merely as an emotional experience but as a prerequisite for goodness and flourishing. It suggests a deeper, more profound connection between cosmic order, the sustenance of life, and the experience of love, transcending purely anthropocentric or emotional definitions to embrace a more holistic and spiritual understanding.

I was recently inspired to begin a series of episodes in which I examine the concept of love from a less conventional perspective.

My template for love is a spiritual template and I try to look at the way that God exists in relation to the created Universe for Clarity on what love is.

If we assume that the higher power is omnibenevolent that is that he is all good and all loving then we should be able to see in the way the higher power relates to the created Universe attributes of that love.

One such attribute that I'd like to emphasize today is order.

If anything love is often associated with disorder it's like this Whirlwind that sweeps into people's lives and turns everything upside down.

However it's interesting to note that in Greek mythology Eros the god of love was the son of chaos the god of primordial disorder this suggests that out of chaos comes love.

What can the ordering principle be that can take the dissolute and disparate elements of the universe and combine them in such a way that life can be sustained what can the principle that fundamentally makes life possible be if not love.

Life let alone the things that make life worth living cannot exist in a chaotic environment.

To create order out of chaos to put things in their proper place to assign actions to their proper season to approach process in the correct sequence these are all examples of how order can be an aspect of love.

Order in my opinion is a neglected form of love that deserves far more acknowledgment and appreciation than it currently gets.