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This concept isn’t actually particularly novel in ethics as the article suggests. I’d argue that Kantian ethics is based fundamentally on the notion of love for
by soomr3 1y ago
This concept isn’t actually particularly novel in ethics as the article suggests. I’d argue that Kantian ethics is based fundamentally on the notion of love for mankind, aka treating mankind as the ultimate end for all of our actions. Zizek and a lot of contemporary philosophers also talk about love’s power to transcend ourselves which is instrumental for being more altruistic.
The most common definition in Critical Theory right now for love is a willingness to expend effort for someone else’s wellbeing. Although this can be related to attachment, it can also be decoupled entirely from it, similar to the concepts in The Brothers Karamazov
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- graemep 1y agoI would say it is a lot older. For example: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself. I think you can find significantly older version of the same idea ("compassion" in Buddhism, maybe?), but that is an actual quote I can call to mind
- n4r9 1y agoIs it really love if someone's commanding you to do it?
- graemep 1y agoYes, because you cannot fake love. You cannot love simply as following a command. You can certainly try to be more loving, but it is still love. It requires a change in yourself. The real point is that the point of commandments is to facilitate love, and they should be interpreted in that light.
- n4r9 1y agoI still feel like something is "off" in comparing this Bible quote to the linked article. Christianity is deontological: there is a pre-existing set of "right" and "wrong" things, and the Bible is a set of rules for aligning yourself with the right things in order that you can get into heaven. The quotations are normative - they're less about "this is how things are" and more about "this is what you should do". Murdoch seems to be making a descriptive statement about what we as humans mean by morality. She is claiming that when people say something is moral, what they're really saying between the lines is that it's borne out of attentive love to other people. You also raised the concept of compassion is Buddhism - I think this is probably closer to Murdoch's ideas.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]