bobcat
Well-known Member
- Location
- Northern Calif
Well, I'm a sucker for a good game of philosophical tennis, so if I may be permitted to dance on the razor's edge for a bit:
The example of unconditional love is presented as the love a parent has for a child, no matter what they have done. However, doesn't the requirement of them being your child make it conditional by definition. The bond is tethered and anchored to the relationship. Would that same love extend to a stranger, no matter what they have done or even if they are barbaric. Would it be indiscriminate?
Perhaps it gives rise to the larger question: Could love even exist without a reason? Doesn't love always arise from some sort of connection and interaction. Perhaps love without reason is an ideal to strive for, but we may be hopelessly held back by the gravity of the human condition. So even in the most generous philosophical accounts, love is responsive. Itās not random or causeless.
Does universal love exist in the truest form without conditions, probably not, at least not in the way we typically define human love.
Nevertheless, it's a concept we can admire, and strive for, but not one we can fully embody.
So what does this mean: Perhaps the beauty of love lies in it's imperfection. The inherent flaws are not to be fixed, because it's the texture that gives it meaning (Forgiveness empathy growth, etc...). Even if it doesn't exist, it can still be an impossibility worth striving for.
The example of unconditional love is presented as the love a parent has for a child, no matter what they have done. However, doesn't the requirement of them being your child make it conditional by definition. The bond is tethered and anchored to the relationship. Would that same love extend to a stranger, no matter what they have done or even if they are barbaric. Would it be indiscriminate?
Perhaps it gives rise to the larger question: Could love even exist without a reason? Doesn't love always arise from some sort of connection and interaction. Perhaps love without reason is an ideal to strive for, but we may be hopelessly held back by the gravity of the human condition. So even in the most generous philosophical accounts, love is responsive. Itās not random or causeless.
Does universal love exist in the truest form without conditions, probably not, at least not in the way we typically define human love.
Nevertheless, it's a concept we can admire, and strive for, but not one we can fully embody.
So what does this mean: Perhaps the beauty of love lies in it's imperfection. The inherent flaws are not to be fixed, because it's the texture that gives it meaning (Forgiveness empathy growth, etc...). Even if it doesn't exist, it can still be an impossibility worth striving for.
