Loving One's Enemies: A Philosophical Assessment

Palawan State University Journal 9 (1):70-89 (2016)
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Abstract

The command to love one’s enemies (the ‘LE Principle’ as it shall henceforth be called) is one of the most striking and counterintuitive precepts that have arisen in the Christian tradition. However, it has received little philosophical scrutiny. This paper aims to fill that gap. I shall first answer two questions behind the two main concepts underlying the principle: a) what would count as an enemy; b) and what does it mean to love someone. Then, after clarifying the relevant concepts, I shall try to examine the whether the LE Principle is consistent with two major ethical traditions in philosophy: utilitarianism and deontology. I shall conclude by affirming that despite the psychological barriers inherent in living by the LE Principle, it will be shown to be livable and morally praiseworthy

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Ian Anthony Davatos
Palawan State University

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References found in this work

Necessity, Volition, and Love.Harry G. Frankfurt - 1998 - New York: Cambridge University Press.
Necessity, Volition and Love.Harry G. Frankfurt - 2001 - Philosophical Quarterly 51 (202):114-116.
Cengage Advantage Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong.Louis P. Pojman - 2016 - Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Edited by James Fieser.
Kant's Formula of Universal Law.Christine M. Korsgaard - 1985 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 66 (1-2):24-47.

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