Ethical judgements should be based on agape

Question 1

Ethical judgements should NOT be based on agape because

Answer 1

The concept of love represented by agape can be interpreted in various ways. It may for some conjure up charity and compassion, but for others represent a dispassionate wanting of good for others. As such, both the concept and the application to individual situations can produce different results.

Question 2

Ethical judgements should NOT be based on agape because

Answer 2

One difficulty with agape and the idea of situation ethics in general is that it seems set up to deal with exceptional or difficult cases. But lawyers and philosophers often argue that hard cases make bad laws. Agape may be the right approach at times, but most cases require us to follow the conventional rules.

Question 3

Ethical judgements should NOT be based on agape because

Answer 3

There may be better principles upon which to base ethics.
These may involve pleasure, duty or purpose according to other ethical theories in the specification. Additionally, a religious believer may argue that God directly reveals commands and that a stress on agape may lead a believer away from the revelation.