Love Thy Neighbor? Why?

So the atheists and agnostics are sweating bullets over there about the purpose of helping others. ;P So far, Okiefreak has the best explanation: that our brains are simply hardwired for altruism.

In other words, there IS no point to helping others, just like there's no point to life. ;P

But you guys think there is.

So why do you love your neighbor?

 

The only people I "love" are my parents. My mother puts in effort to talk about things that interest me. My dad is cool, so that's all fine and good... Other than that, I don't have much contact with other people... I watch a lot of Anthony Bourdain's shows and have caught the travel bug, so maybe in a few years I'll be able to comment on whether or not people are generally shitty all over the globe or just here in the city I live. Though, it's probably me that's the problem. (I don't actually believe that all people are shitty. Replace shitty with "awesome" if you want. Regardless of what sounds better, it's still either pessimism or naivety on my part)

Freud's take on the matter isn't half bad...


“The commandment, 'Love thy neighbour as thyself', is the strongest defence against human aggressiveness and an excellent example of the unpsychological [expectations] of the cultural super-ego. The commandment is impossible to fulfil; such an enormous inflation of love can only lower its value, not get rid of the difficulty. Civilization pays no attention to all this; it merely admonishes us that the harder it is to obey the precept the more meritorious it is to do so. But anyone who follows such a precept in present-day civilization only puts himself at a disadvantagevis-a-vis the person who disregards it. What a potent obstacle to civilization aggressiveness must be, if the defence against it can cause as much unhappiness as aggressiveness itself! 'Natural' ethics, as it is called, has nothing to offer here except the narcissistic satisfaction of being able to think oneself better than others. At this point the ethics based on religion introduces its promises of a better after-life. But so long as virtue is not rewarded here on earth, ethics will, I fancy, preach in vain. I too think it quite certain that a real change in the relations of human beings to possessions would be of more help in this direction than any ethical commands; but the recognition of this fact among socialists has been obscured and made useless for practical purposes by a fresh idealistic misconception of human nature.”

 

Freud was full of shit
I prefer:

I am another yourself. - native american proverb

 

^^Why so you prefer that?

 

because she's hot.

 

because, i do.

 

For no good reason?

 

Because it explains perfectly why we should love our neighbor.

I dont think of love as a feeling though. I think of it as an action. You dont have to feel warm fuzzies for anyone in order to show them basic kindness.

 

i believe the word we're really looking for here is consideration. affection is its own reward when its reciprocal, but consideration doesn't require direct reciprocation. it generates gratification by creating a world statistically, that is just that little bit better, or more likely, to be able to enjoy living in. kindness, generosity, these are all part of the same thing. they don't depend on how we feel about someone else as an individual, nor how they individually feel about us. they do their work in those "mysterious" ways, that aren't THAT mysterious, just not hard direct linear. which i suppose must seem mysterious to anyone who denies that anything not hard direct linear could possibly exist.

this is a much more general sort of thing that transcends differences between religions, or even between belief and non-belief.
i really don't see it as something that can be claimed to be owned by christianity, or any one other religion or even all religions.

 

That's just simple etiquette.

 

But there's no reason to believe it in the first place.

 

There is no reason to believe in what, my quote? Or that you should love your neighbor?

If you are referring to the quote, i like it because I think it perfectly defines empathy.

And i get the feeling from the questions you ask that you lack empathy, that it is a confusing concept for you. And i'm not sure it is really something that can be explained if you dont have it.

 

This is mostly a philosophical journey or one to get us to think critically.

 

We are told to love our neighbours in the bible, as an edict of jesus, in reference to how to save our souls from the eternal lake of fire. From a christian perspective, this is about self preservation and obeying the orders of the creator of the universe.

 

Well, I understand this goes over your head but 'even' with christians it has also to do with empathy and compassion, and not only because Jesus/God said so.

Why do we make use of etiquette? What's the point?

 

To avoid conflict.

 

Seems an excellent reason to keep on friendly terms with your neighbours as well

 

To "love my neighbor, without thinking hard, but rather naturally or automatically I always, always! let somebody with a few items go ahead of me if I have more than 3 items. According to who/what is going on, I will step back for less.

Nobody has ever told me to do that, not that I recall. Doing this has never hurt me, and it may have helped someone else. I feel like I've done ok afterwards, but that is upon reflection now. I never remember having let someone step ahead of me or open the door for a disabled person and all old ladies because I felt I was going to benefit later. These are just 2 examples but there are others. Its sometimes easier to love your neighbor than your family.

It is possible to want to do something, or it come innately, without thinking you're doing it because it will make you feel good.

I'm hesitant to say that it is solely because I believe in God that I do such things. Surely its possible there is someone out there that doesn't believe and also not want to harm and and still possess the desire to help or make.

That's my .02 which I'm not even sure what I said.

(I have to get back to some housework .)

 

Well I understand that this goes over your head but even though the bible gives us reasons to act in certain ways, we can find our own reasons to act in those ways. That doesn't change the fact that in christianity, in the bible, we are told exactly why we should follow the law of the Lord; so that our souls might be saved and we may live forever in His presence. That is the teleology of christianity. In fact according to Divine Command theory, a mainstream theory of christian morality, whatsoever god commands in the bible, is made moral.

So if god commands to love thy neighbour, then loving thy neighbour is moral.

If god commands you to kill all the members of the tribe next door, men, women, and little boys, and take the little girls as slaves, then that becomes moral.

This theory is defended by Aquinas, a foundational philospher of modern christianity (especially catholicism) and by William Lain Craig, a modern theologian of good standing in christendom. You can read his tortuous defense of some of god's actions in the bible here http://www.reasonablefaith.org/slaughter-of-the-canaanites

I would submit that people can behave ethically despite being beholden to an outdated moral code. People choose which parts of the bible/torah/quran to ignore in their lives because of their in-built mammalian brains, hardwired for altruism, cooperation, fairness, and parenthood.

 

I'm not denying what's in the bible, mr. As usual you are focussing on a certain part of the religion you like to discredit but are ignoring all other facets. In this case it is as usual the theory/biblical text that you like to point out. I as usual like to point out that the religion is made up of people and that it really can't be ignored that empathy and compassion is just as big of a reason to 'love thy neighbour' than the fear to eternally burn in fire. Maybe in the past this fear was the biggest reason to mind God's wishes but empathy and compassion has always been a big part of christianity, its followers and of course it's 'working force' like salvation army, certain cloister orders and plenty of individual examples.
If you only go by christian theology you will never fully understand your religious fellow human, dude. If you look objectively at the full picture it is easy to see.

This doesn't make sense, as I told you often enough I have my own reasons to act in those ways and do not follow things because it is written in some book So your understanding is lacking again, or did you just wanna word it witty? If you ment it seriously I think it would be mighty interesting to look at myself through mr. writer glasses (not sure I would recognize myself )
Anyway, first of all: nobody is arguing that we can't find our own reasons to act morally. Really not sure why you are telling me this. But you are also putting it like christians don't do this because they have the bible to guide them. As we are not talking about a particular christian in this thread (as you always like to focus on and ignore all the others) but christians in general I have to break it to you that most christians use their brain in this regard just as much as you and me. Revelation for you?

edit: spelling