Is an act of love a good act?

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Evil.

I mean, have you seen Courtney Love act? It's frightening.

 

[Gez]

It's selfish.

 

[John Crichton]

Evil.

I mean, have you seen Courtney Love act? It's frightening.

Heheh. Well, we are talking about love here. I don't know what aural and sonic torture has to do with it...

 

[Buttercup]

All things good are done out of love.

But not all things done out of love are good.

Discuss.

I guess I don't agree with your first statement. Sometimes, for example, a good thing might be done out of duty. Duty can indeed be motivated by love, but sometimes duty exists in the absence of love. In fact, I would argue that the wonderful thing about duty is that it can guide you into a proper course of action even when your heart is telling you to do something completely different.

Let me give you an example. Let's say a person had a parent who had been abusive in the past. But now the parent is old and ill, and it is the adult child's duty to arrange for care rather than just abandon that parent. In that circumstance, the child might really despise the parent, but could be guided by duty into doing the right thing. There is no love there. Perhaps there once was, or perhaps not. But the good thing is done for a reason other than love.

 

[Myrddyn]

The motive is good I think, but the act is what shall make it good or evil !

 

[Dark Eternal]

Just my two copper peices' worth, but it seems to me that most of the different opinions on this topic stem from the fact that the word "love" is one of the most poorly understood/defined words in the english language.

Not to say that the word has no clear definition, just that relatively few people actually define the word subjectively the same way.

To me, based on how I define the word, the answer to you primary question is an obvious and unqualified 'Yes' - but that's because, by the very definitions I believe in, an act of love can't be anything but good.

If you want to know how I define love, read I Corinthians, chapter 13. (Not that I actually expect anyone to go grab a bible and start flipping pages, or anything...)

(Just for the record, I'm not a religious fanatic, just a student of philosophy. And this isn't an attempt to bring religion into the picture; I think the nature of love is something that has a lot of ties to religion, but it definately isn't religious.)

Anyways, that's my input. Disregard it as you will.

 

[Dark Eternal]

I just totally forgot the term for brotherly love. This is the love that exists between friends and siblings. Again, this can go wrong. If my friend is a bloody murderer and I cover up for him...

The word you were looking for is Philos [sp?] - it's the root of, among other things, Philodelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love".



Great post, by the way.

 

[DonAdam]

The word you were looking for is Philos [sp?] - it's the root of, among other things, Philodelphia, "The City of Brotherly Love".

Yes, that's it! Thanks.

How could I have forgotten that? Also the root for philosophy (love of wisdom).

Rereading my post, though, I am not sure that the main point was clear. In one brief sentence:

Love wills the good of the other, but does not know what that good is without something else directing or informing it.

 

[Nail]

Sometimes, for example, a good thing might be done out of duty. Duty can indeed be motivated by love, but sometimes duty exists in the absence of love. In fact, I would argue that the wonderful thing about duty is that it can guide you into a proper course of action even when your heart is telling you to do something completely different.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Wisdom gained from experience, I'll warrant.