CONCEPT OF LOVE IN MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

SOURCE:

Faculty: Arts
Department: Department Of Philosophy

CONTRIBUTORS:

Romanus, I.M;
Oguejiofor, J. O;

ABSTRACT:

The search for peace, love, cooperation and mutual existence in the world has made the research on Martin Luther King Jr’s principle of nonviolent revolution an imperative. The aim of nonviolent revolution, as practised by King, is to build a beloved community, where love holds sway. In this beloved community, the ethic of love stands out. That is why in the midst of human exploitation, brutality, extreme poverty, social injustice, economic oppression, political intimidations, war and racism, King seeks reconciliation through love and forgiveness. The work considers whether King's concept of love when applied can restore peace and harmony in the contemporary society. It also considers whether Luther's concept of beloved community through the power of love is achievable in this postmodern society of extremely calculated and inflicted poverty, hatred, war and racism. The researcher, furthermore, analyzed whether King’s concept of love can stand as a unifying principle in the midst of Boko Haram, Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra and Indigenous Peoples of Biafra in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Niger Delta militants, Islamic militants, Arab Spring in the Middle East, and other conflict-ridden situations that trouble the postmodern world. The work questions if a general application of King’s concept of love is possible. Using an analytic method, this dissertation seeks to examine and think of King's concept of love carefully to see if it is still relevant in the contemporary society, especially, Nigeria. This dissertation finds out that the best option for peace and harmony in the world is to build a community of love, a brotherhood amongst nations - a beloved community. It discovers that despite the inconsistencies one may notice in Martin Luther King’s approach in solving the problem of hatred, racism, war and other forms of social evil or injustice, his ideals, if applied conscientiously, will help to bring peace and harmony in Nigeria and the world at large. The work, recommends that the nations of the world should work together to promote peace management and conflict resolution amongst nations, and at the same time encourage dialogue, unity and solidarity among individuals and nations. It also suggests that the United Nations Organization and other peace-keeping organizations (like Non-governmental Organizations) saddled with the responsibility of harmonizing the world should do more to promote love among peoples and nations. It concludes that since the primary law of nature is preservation of human life, all nations of the world should work together to promote, preserve and protect human life by respecting the fundamental human rights, freedom and equality of all human races. And all these can only be achieved through love.