Love and morality might seem like separate realms – one concerned with unruly feelings, the other with universal rules. But in this video, Meghan Sullivan, a professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, argues that the two can, and perhaps should, be deeply intertwined. Drawing on ancient moral traditions, Sullivan explores the concept of a ‘love ethic’, showing how the feeling can be meaningfully incorporated into our moral calculations. Rethinking love in ethical terms, and considering ethics through the lens of love, she suggests that such an approach could help address contemporary social fractures – from political polarisation to the dehumanising effects of social media, where people often respond to abstractions rather than to the individuals behind the keyboard.
