Is there really such thing such as Platonic love? Or people just use this for discreet relationships?

Definitely. I have a very close platonic friend and I love her to death.

Yes! I was a cinic but they can happen in long term relationships, after sexual curiosity satisfied

I would definately say so. One of my best friends in high school was a guy who I loved dearly, nothing more than friendship. It was one of the best friendships I had ever had, he was like a big brother to me.

I have to say yes. I adore my friends but it's nothing more than that. If there's any kind of love for any of them it's because I appreciate them for being in my life

yes, it happens all the time

Oh yes, it certainly can happen. I have a paticular friend whom I adore. I would be very upset and depressed if I lost her. She means the world to me, but I am not in love with her. We are both gay, but she has another partner and I respect that.
I love her, but am not IN love with her, there is a big difference. We both feel the same way, and are in contact every day. I have only seen her once this year, but will see her again soon.

NO! A man is a sexual being. He is always on the prowl for a woman (unless he is gay)Its not right or wrong - It's just the way we are made. Here is a hypothetical situation. suppose a man is sitting in a chair in a room, alone, no one knows where he is - his wife/ girlfriend are out of town, he is totally alone. A nude woman comes into the room and tells him she wants to make love to him and please him. I realize there are one or two who could refuse but the normal man would accept. this is just a fact of life. I was a soldier once, and young. I used prostitutes. I t was hard to refuse when they came on to me like they did. (I don't think I ever refused. I have seen arguments between men and women about the man sleeping with someone else while he was overseas of something similar. Women don't realize that a man is weak when it comes to sex. Forgive us men, ladies. We are not bad, just normal.

I have guy friends whom I love and I'm not the least bit attracted to them. As for levinkitty, I don't think he should speak for all men. I've asked my brother this question and he said yes. He would have no reason to lie to me.

Platonic love has nothing to do with relationships. It is simply the love you feel for your fellow man. Or fellow woman.

Ya wanna know if its possible for a real spiritual connection to exist between individuals without sex being involved? For example, can a straight guy really be just "friends" with a woman.

I think the answer has to with human cognitive function and the neurochemistry of sexual attraction. All human emotions including "love" are chemical reactions that take place in our brain's limpic system. Chemically, serotonin effects of being in romantic love are amazing similar to those a obsessive-compulsive disorder, a common form of mental illness. Other brain hormones like oxytocin and vasopressin are closely linked to more long term bonding behavior, as in parental love.

So the common notion of rational "platonic love" is made somewhat difficult by four billion years of brain evolution. Emotions are controlled in the primitive "Paleomammalian" brain structures that we share with our "lizard" ancestors.

Besides, this Plato dude was a big famous Greek philosopher at a time when he and his all buddies considered women to only be the property of fathers and husbands. And those guys didn't think men and women could really form their idealized form of a platonic relationship. No more than men and goats could have that kind of intellectual arrangement! So I think we are safe in assuming he and his way thinking were pretty much full of s h i t.