Act and Utilitarianism
Assess the view that a religious concept of love is the most difficult to put into practice. (20 Marks)
It can be considered that loving an individual in all circumstances can be a difficult thing to do. Most religions would say that love should be the central theme behind all of our actions. This may be an ideal standard for the world to have. However, would this be applicable in the world of politics, business and jury systems? For example, if love was to be the ruling norm of a jury system, would it be practical for the jury to not send a rapist to prison for his actions? This would be impractical and would put society in danger with such individuals having freedom. This shows that love can be impractical as it may not take into account justice alongside love. However, Joseph Fletcher who devised situation ethics used a working principle which stated ‘Love and Justice are the same, for justice is love distributed nothing else. In this case of the rapist being punished, there would still be justice. However, it would be served with love. Therefore, the conclusion may be to retribute the criminal, but alongside the retribution there would have to be reformation to show the person that their actions were wrong, but at the same time show them that they can change. Therefore, it may be argued that love is practical as it can be flexible in all situations.
On the other hand, Christianity teaches that humans are flawed and as a result of our condition we cannot truly love without spiritual inspiration. This means that in order for an individual to put love into practice this would require help from a super natural power. Jesus illustrates “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” This illustration shows that the same way the branches of a plant are hopeless without the vine (root),
It can be considered that loving an individual in all circumstances can be a difficult thing to do. Most religions would say that love should be the central theme behind all of our actions. This may be an ideal standard for the world to have. However, would this be applicable in the world of politics, business and jury systems? For example, if love was to be the ruling norm of a jury system, would it be practical for the jury to not send a rapist to prison for his actions? This would be impractical and would put society in danger with such individuals having freedom. This shows that love can be impractical as it may not take into account justice alongside love. However, Joseph Fletcher who devised situation ethics used a working principle which stated ‘Love and Justice are the same, for justice is love distributed nothing else. In this case of the rapist being punished, there would still be justice. However, it would be served with love. Therefore, the conclusion may be to retribute the criminal, but alongside the retribution there would have to be reformation to show the person that their actions were wrong, but at the same time show them that they can change. Therefore, it may be argued that love is practical as it can be flexible in all situations.
On the other hand, Christianity teaches that humans are flawed and as a result of our condition we cannot truly love without spiritual inspiration. This means that in order for an individual to put love into practice this would require help from a super natural power. Jesus illustrates “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” This illustration shows that the same way the branches of a plant are hopeless without the vine (root),