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1.5.8 Choosing Love (or Compassion)Version 1.0 October 2022 (Previous Version) Is love enough? Probably not, but is it necessary? Or should we promote something like sympathy, because there’s not enough love to go around? If we choose love as a core value, what does it mean? Sections 1 to 7 of this chapter have provided the background for actually making core ethical choices. ● We accept that ethical choices can be complex; there are no simple rules or algorithms; ● There is no widely accepted definition of the good that we can somehow prove is valid, or good; ● We cannot ultimately obtain our values from God, even if God did exist; ● Nor can we obtain core values from any other supernatural being or nonmaterial world; ● We can't appeal to nature: unnatural things aren’t all bad, and natural things aren’t all good; ● We can't rely on our human tendencies towards altruistic behaviour that evolved since life began; ● We can't rely solely on each individual’s enlightened self-interest; we need real ethical choices. We make core ethical choices because we can't deduce, infer or be reliably informed of what is good. We can and do justify our ethical choices, but there will be more widespread open disagreement about these core choices than our other core “pragmatic” choices such as Truth, Diversity and Reality. Without the latter three, we can't really have a conversation about anything, much less ethics. Anyone who doesn’t value Life is also unlikely to be participating in this conversation. But many people will disagree with the conclusions we have drawn in Sections 1 to 7. And even those who agree more or less with those conclusions may have differing opinions on what the best core ethical values may be. But we are confident that our core ethical choices are consistent with what many people now believe. We can show that our core ethical choices support or justify the Golden Rule (Section 1.5.11), a form of which is found in all traditional major world religions. Our core ethical choices are consistent with modern criminology. They can be used to show when tyrants, populists and ideologues are wrong.
We summarize the conclusions we can reasonably come to on these issues as follows: 1.5.8 There are no definitive paths that allow us to ‘prove’ any system of ethics. So we must choose the most reasonable set of ethical principles or guidelines that we can, that are justifiable and liveable in pragmatic terms. We choose the core ethical value of Love, to minimise harm or suffering and promote happiness or well-being. We must avoid getting bogged down supposedly logical cul-de-sacs concerning the nature of suffering and the good. We acknowledge the expanding circle of who we love most – lovers, family and friends – out to our community and total strangers. We accept we are more willing to sacrifice ourselves for those closest to us, but realize we must also contribute to the welfare of those we may never know. We are aware that a trivial sacrifice for an affluent person can have an immense effect on the needy. We don’t need to sacrifice ourselves completely to say we value Love, but we do need to sacrifice what we can, especially when it makes little difference to our lifestyle but makes a huge difference to the poor and needy. We must exercise self-discipline to avoid causing harm and to persist in helping others. Ultimately, our compassion should extend to all sentient beings, to the extent that we wish to minimise the suffering and promote the well-being of animals. We must be wary of feelings that are said to be love, but in fact are desperate attachment, unwillingness to let go, destructive possessiveness, controlling behaviour, or finally excessively permissive, as all these reduce well-being or happiness, and cause harm rather than minimize it. They are not Love. Love on its own is not enough as an ethical principle or guideline. It must be balanced with Equality and Responsibility, as well as Life, and our choices must be informed, which involves valuing Truth, Diversity and Reality. And sometimes valuing Life must be balanced by Love, to minimise harm and maximise well-being.
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