Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Why does the heart get all the love?

When it is said that a person has a strong stomach, it means they can eat volatile foods. A strong liver is associated with the ability to drink vast amounts of alcohol, and rightly so. But when a person is said to have a strong heart it means that they are courageous, with integrity and resolve. How did the heart get all those personality aspects? Add on to that the fact that a 'big heart' denotes generosity and altruism, a 'pure heart' means that a person's intentions and character are righteous, and of course all of the associations with love and passion.

One could argue that the word 'heart' in all these cases is not referring to the organ, but instead means the 'essence' or 'kernel' of the person. I have never interpreted these phrases in that way, but I suppose it is reasonable to do so. Tell me in the comments if you do. Maybe the connection between the heart as an organ and the heart as the essence of a person was in fact created by the fact that the word has the two meanings. Do you think that if the word 'intestine' meant 'essence', we would see an image like this on Valentines Day cards?

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