With reference to a poem "Dialogue between two lovers" and a fable "The Last Love", essential aspects of love are described: love as access to the world, as a path to wisdom, self-knowledge and virtue, love as fear of loss and the desire to merge, love as encounter in dialogue, love as care, love as ecstasy, a feeling of pleasure and happiness. These are based on three theories of love from the beginnings of philosophy in ancient Greece by Plato and Aristotle. In the article they are considered from a philosophical-psychiatric perspective and supplemented by newer interpretations. With the help of a brief description of individual psychiatric disorders, a new understanding of love has been formulated. Ethical reflections on love life in psychiatry suggest that love in psychiatry is subject to a taboo, despite the creative possibilities it offers. Possible causes are discussed at the end. The article encourages thinking about love in psychiatry.