For the Sake of Science

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Exodus 20:12 (KJV)

We’re taught again and again that we are to show our relatives, and especially our parents, a higher level of respect than we grant to others. Usually, we make others work for the respect we show them (at least beyond the base respect some of us may grant all conscious beings). Our close relatives, however, are not required to earn their respect. Often, this turns into unconditional love. And, of course, cultural norms have reinforced the idea that children should unconditionally love their parents and parents should do the same for their children, with these notions usually being extended to siblings.

How does this not undermine the very concept of love?

All we are doing is determing our so-called ‘love’ from genetic relatedness. This served a purpose in our evolutionary past, but it is no longer needed for the civilized world. We demean the notion of love by using this ‘basis’. Through unconditional love we are telling our parents and children that, no, we do not love you for the person you are: we love you for no good reason at all. It isn’t your good nature, your heart, your intelligence, or how you affect the lives of those around you. No. Instead, it is your genes.

Our love should be wholly conditional. Anything less is an insult to the concept of love and, more importantly, an insult to those we claim to love.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: evolutionary history, Genetic relatedness, Unconditional Love | 12 Comments »