ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Purposive approach

Imagine you're playing a game of "hide and seek" with your best friend. You know that your friend likes to hide in really tricky spots, so you have to use your brain and think like your friend to find them. That's kind of what "purposive approach" means when it comes to understanding laws and rules.

Sometimes, laws and rules can be really complicated and hard to understand. That's where the purposive approach comes in - it basically means trying to figure out why the law was made in the first place. Just like in "hide and seek", you have to think about the other person's purpose or intention.

So, let's say there's a rule that says "No eating in class." The purposive approach to that rule would be to try to figure out WHY the rule exists. Maybe it's because food can be super distracting and make it hard for students to focus on their work. Or maybe it's because certain foods are messy and can make a big mess.

By thinking about why the rule exists, we can better understand how it should be applied. For example, if a student is eating a piece of fruit because they are feeling a little bit sick, they may be excused from the rule because their intention is not to be distracting or make a mess. But if a student is eating a big bag of chips and crunching loudly, then they may be breaking the rule because their intention is to eat something that can be very distracting.

Overall, the purposive approach is all about trying to understand the reason behind a law or rule, and using that understanding to figure out how it should be applied in different situations.