Falling in love substitutes for the knowledge that grounded trust normally requires.

Evidence

Falling in love and into friendship work in two ways at once. First, they stand in for initial knowledge of the other that would be definitive of grounded trust. Second, they imply a commitment that justifies reciprocation from the other in the expectation that one will continue the relationship and that one has much to gain from doing so. … Therefore, the psychology of falling in love (or into friendship) enables us to develop crucial relationships much more quickly than we could otherwise. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 653

Categorization

• XREF: The claim that love ‘stands in for’ knowledge connects directly to Luhmann’s point that familiarity substitutes for first-hand knowledge, and to the blindness novel’s collapse of all such substitutes.