Scientists have a cold eyed view of the purpose of love. The tender intimacy and selflessness of a mother's love might be celebrated by inspiring music, literature and art. Many great artists have been profoundly affected by the relationship between mother and child, as depicted by Da Vinci's Virgin and Child, Van Gogh's First Steps and so on.
But the evolutionary biologist has a more prosaic formulation – the lifelong commitment serves to help a parents' genetic material survive through to future generations. The passion shared by two lovers serves a surprisingly similar function – it facilitates mating and parenting – and hence again is merely the selfish gene in action. If we didn't love, then the species would simply never get perpetuated, so maybe that is love's actual function.
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