Is love like Einstein said posthumously–in the letter to his daughter Lieserl– a universal force? If so, it would be universally applicable and would explain just about everything and would be part of the long sought after theory of everything.

Physics recognizes the law of attraction, gravity, the electromagnetic force, the strong force and the weak force as fundamental forces. All these are embodied in the bosons: gravitons (gravitation), photons (electromagnetic), gluons (strong force) and the w and z bosons (weak force).

Love as an emotion would physically mean it is a form of energy. As such it tends to be understood as tractor beam, that however immediately convokes the idea of an opposing pressor beam which is then understood as hate. This version or meaning of love has a vector quality in other words a magnitude and a preferred direction, thus would not qualify as a universal force.

There is another concept around in new age and other circles which is unconditional love, this would tentatively embrace what is hated or embrace those who hate the emitter of love. This is a more difficult concept as it would sort of pre-suppose that everything is lovely or lovable. The most evil characters in history are known to have loved themselves.

If love is the underlying common denominator force or all forces then it would have to be defined in non-dualistic terms. There is a scientific term affinity which can take positive, negative and zero values. Such a concept could be a more likely candidate for a universal force.

A force is something which either increases space or reduces space, the same can be said of energy.

Affinity as a concept embracing all forms of energy and which can be positive, negative, zero or even infinity would very well qualify as a universal force. In its infinite form it even embraces unconditional love.

C. de Nada