Love, Goodness and Moral Understanding: Two Reflections

Abstract

The article examines the relation between love and moral understanding in the context of post-Wittgensteinian ethics via two examples, the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan and Raimond Gaita’s autobiographical account of an encounter with a loving nun. The article suggests that the examples are best understood as teachings about love as expressive of moral understanding and speak of love thus understood in terms of a wholehearted responsiveness to others – as wholeheartedness. While both examples teach a similar lesson, they emphasise different aspects: whereas the discussion of the Biblical parable focuses on the moral understanding involved in being loving towards another, Gaita’s anecdote foregrounds the question of what it is like to witness and understand such love. Our discussion shows that philosophy often overlooks the moral significance of love by rationalising morality. Whereas rational conceptions of morality overemphasise its practical and socio-cultural dimensions, the moral understanding that finds expression in love illustrates the radically personal nature of moral concerns. Thus, it is suggested that love is not merely an aspect of morality but lies at its very heart.