Learning to Love: Dr. Leo Buscaglia on The Human Condition

by | Mar 6, 2025 | Blog, Community, Podcast, Student Mental Health


Love is a profound and multifaceted concept that has fascinated people for centuries. But how well do we really understand it? This question is at the center of our most recent episode of Into the Fold, which features an archived recording of the Hogg Foundation radio show, The Human Condition, with commentary by present day staff members, Mary Capps, Elizabeth Stauber, and Darrell Wiggins. 

Produced and hosted by former Hogg Foundation program officer, Bert Kruger Smith, The Human Condition aired from 1971 to 1983. This episode featured Dr. Leo Buscaglia, professor, motivational speaker, and bestselling author of several books focusing on love and human relationships. 

Learning to Love 

Dr. Leo Buscaglia believed that love is not something we are simply born knowing, but that it takes effort and grows over time. 

“Wherever you are in love, you’re only just beginning,” he said. “We assume that it’s there, that everybody has it, that everybody’s born with it, and that all they have to do is just reach a certain point in life, and there it is, full bloom. And it isn’t so.” 

Hogg commentators agreed that love requires effort. 

“You have to work for love, you have to be intentional about love, and you can’t just assume that you will love, or you will be loved,” says Elizabeth, Hogg Foundation archivist and records manager. 

Elizabeth questions another of Buscaglia’s beliefs, however: that social problems like suicide result from a lack of love. 

“Does suicide result from a lack of love? I don’t think so,” says Elizabeth, emphasizing the complexity of such issues. 

 

Human Touch 

Buscaglia emphasized the importance of physical affection and connection and refers to studies of infants who were deprived of nurturing physical contact. 

“For years they were mysteriously, in quotes, dying,” he said. “Even though they were on a good diet… at least half of them died. Most of them went into forms of retardation, into states of schizophrenia. The other group, all of them, to a man, are functioning adequately.” 

At the same time, Hogg commentators bring attention to the increased sensitivity surrounding personal boundaries and physical touch in the present day. 

“Expression of love requires a level of trust and relationship building before you get to it,” says Elizabeth. 

“When I trust someone, that just opens the door to love,” says Mary. “If I don’t trust someone, I’m never gonna go there.” 

 

The Power of Love 

Buscaglia’s belief in the power of love extended to societal change. 

“As long as there is a man suffering or in pain, he’s my responsibility,” Buscaglia said, echoing the sentiments of Albert Schweitzer and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

His vision of unity – one that transcends romantic love and embraces collective care remains a compelling aspiration. 

Ultimately, revisiting this episode of The Human Condition accompanied by commentary from the present day reinforces the idea of love as a timeless subject of reflection. 

“Listening to this episode from the 1970s, where they’re talking about such a basic aspect of being human, love… we’re always going to be talking about love throughout the rest of humanity’s time on Earth,” says Darrell, the foundation’s digital content strategist. 

While words and ideas may change, love remains a central element of the human experience. And Buscaglia’s thoughts, whether fully accepted or approached with skepticism, encourage us to think about how we understand and express love. 

As Darrell concludes, “Find those moments of joy and appreciate them.”