Relationship between religion and morality Flashcards
What is the Euthyphro dilemma?
n his dialogue, Euthyphro, Plato posed a problem which has had great philosophical implications
During a discussion between Socrates and Greek religious prophet Euthyphro, E proposes the following problem…
‘Is what is pious loved by the Gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved?’
What does it ask in plainer English?
Are things good because they are commanded by God? Is morality dependent on religion?
Does God only command things which are good? Is morality independent of religion? This can’t be the case if God is to be omnipotent
Who decides what is good in the dependent universe?
God. Good things are good because God decided that they were
What is the radical implication of this idea?
Radical implication is that God could demand that we do something that society considers immoral. If God said torturing an innocent child was good, we would be compelled to do it
How does divine command theory fit into the DU
The divine command theory says moral rules are true because they are commanded by God
Give a quote from Emil Bruner that supports divine command theory
‘The good will consists in always doing what God wills at any particular moment’ (Emil Brunner, 1947)
What are the two main implications of the DU for morality?
If they were not commanded by God then they would be amoral
If God commanded the opposite of what he did command, then morality would have been the other way around
What do moral commands appear to be?
Arbitrary
Why is this an uncomfortable implication?
Surely torturing babies is wrong intrinsically rather than just being commanded by God
Give an example of one of the philosophers who thinks that morality cannot be based on authority alone
Kant thinks that morality is based on reason
What does Ayer say in support of the idea that morality can’t be based on authority alone?
‘No morality can be founded on authority, even if the authority were divine’
Why do they think that morality can’t depend on authority?
Commanding something doesn’t make it morally right
Why does Liebnez think the DU harms the idea of God being praiseworthy?
Why praise God if he would be equally praiseworthy for doing the contrary. Destroys the idea of God’s glory without realising
What is the counter to the idea that it seems illogical that God could choose for it to be a moral obligation to torture children?
Because he is omnipotent
Why does IU think exists in terms of morality?
External standard of good that exists independent on God
How does God relate to this idea?
God loves acts that fit this standard. He must command that which is good
Why does it counter the idea of omnipotence
since he cannot decide for himself what is good
Why would Plato have supported the IU model?
Plato was an absolutist and believed in a set of absolute moral rules which are true in themselves and bit by virtue of being commanded
Why might the IU lead to people being less willing to follow moral laws?
Because we have no heteronomous reason for doing so
Why does God seem limited by the IU?
God seems diminished because he defers to a higher set of absolutes. Challenges omnipotence
God no longer has an absolute nature because moral rules hold this position
List the three options when it comes to religion and morality
- Morality and religion are dependent on one another and cannot exist without each other
- Religion and morality are independent and exist separately of each other
- Religion is opposed to morality - religion and morality exist separately but religion leads to morality
Which two options does the Euthyphro dilemma show?
The DU and the IU
What position is 3rd option associated with?
The anti theist position that became popular at the turn of the century
Explain the idea of the DU
God gets to decide what is good. Something is good purely because God decided. The radical implication is that he could command something society would find immoral
Explain the idea of the IU
External standard of good that exists independent of God. This avoids the problem above. God cannot decide whether something is good or not, he must command that which is good. This notion is contradictory to the idea of an omnipotent God because he cannot decide for himself what is good
Where are the 10 commandments set out?
Exodus 20:1-17
List the 10 commandments
- No other Gods before me
- No idols
- Don’t take God’s name in vain
- Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
- Honour your mother and father
- No murder
- No adultery
- No stealing
- No false testimony against your neighbour
- Do not covet anything that belongs to your neighbour
What does divine command ethics state
That it is right to follow the commands of god
What do religious people think about morality?
That morality could not exist without religion and a God
How can we know what God commands are
Through scripture
Give some examples of the scripture we can use to learn God’s commands
- 10 commandments
- Bible
- Church
- Church authorities
Why must we follow God’s commands?
Because they are absolute and objectively. This is based on the idea that God decides what is good and will judge humanity, sending them to heaven or hell based on whether they have followed his commands
Why do those who believe in the DU think that morality could not exist without God
Because if this was the case there would be no authority behind moral commands. God is the only authority who can make people follow ethical commands. Only he has the power to judge people and send them to heaven or hell. Only he has the power to fefine what is good and make objective absolute commands. Society could create ethical theories but they would just be opinion without God
Weaknesses of DCT
- Encourages people to be good because they want to go to heaven and avoid hell. This is not true morality, because good acts should be performed on the basis that we recognise it is the right way to behave, not out of a selfish desire for reward. Elizabeth Anscombe would support this by saying that ethics should be autonomous rather than heteronomous
- Kant argued that heaven and hell should never motivate a person’s actions. He thinks people should follow the moral law because they have recognised that it is their duty to do so through reason
- James Rachels argues that being moral out of obedience to God is inappropriate because to be a moral agent is to be autonomous and self directed. It is about identifying the right way to behave for yourself. God is wrong to ask us to abandon this autonomy or independence by following DCT
- Moral theories can have authority without God. The Universal Declaration of HR, despite not being supported by everyone, is believed by many to contain principles that are true and meaningful. Humans can and do judge others according to these principles. They have authority because of how widely respected and agreed upon they are
- Subjective because believers think that for a thing to be right it must be commanded by God. This is their subjective opinion about how what is good is decided. However, the believers themselves see these commands as objective
What has DCT be seen as due to these weaknesses?
An unsatisfactory solution to the Euthyphro dilemma
What has emerged in recent years to try and smooth over some of these difficulties?
A modified version of the theory
What is it called
Weak DCT
How does it try and solve the dilemma
By showing that the two options are not mutually exclusive. We can do both so no longer have a dilemma
What would the implication of both of the options from the dilemma being true
Would mean moral commands are good because they are commanded by God and that God only commands that which is good
Explain Robert Adams’ weak DCT
- Says that morally good things are objectively good and morally bad things are objectively bad. This means that God would never command something evil, because such actions are objectively bad
- He says that morally good things are objectively good because of God’s benevolent nature. This means that God’s power is not restricted because commanding objectively good things is just what is in God’s nature. It’s not the God can’t command evil things, it’s just that his omnibenevolent nature means he won’t
What is the most crucial objection to this theory?
That God does not exist
Whose moral arguement for the existence of God will we look at in this chapter?
Kant’s
How do moral arguements work broadly speaking
They claim that the existence of ethical rules establishes the existence of God. They claim that we not be able to know right from wrong if God did not exist
What three things do these arguements have to establish?
- That morality exists
- That God exists
- That the existence of God explains the existence of morality
Why does Kant disagree with so many arguements for the existence of God?
Because he thinks the existence of God can never be proven
Explain his idea that we could still postulate the existence of God
We can postualte that God exists from the way rational, moral beings act. To postulate something is to say that it is the best possible answer or solution. Postulating the existence of God does not prove he exists, but he felt it was the best answer to a problem he found in his account of morality
What are autonomous acts?
Actions freely chosen by the individual
What are heteronomous acts?
Actions compelled by an outside agent
Why did Kant think morality required autonomy
Because if we are to act morally, we must be able to choose for ourselves what to do. An act can’t be called moral if someone has forced us to do this
What solution to the Euthyphro dilemma must Kant therefore reject
The idea that morality is just whatever God commands - the DU
What question does this beg?
What is it that separates good from bad
What does Kant argue this is?
Reason, our capacity to make rational decisions. When we employ reason in moral decision making, it commands we do our duty. We we ignore reason, we act not only illogically, but immorally too
What is the summum bonum
Literally means ‘the highest good’. This is the ideal scenario where always doing the right thing also brings happiness
If reason grounds morality, what question does this beg?
What need is there for God
What is one criticism levelled at Kantian ethics in terms of the demands it places on people
That it demands too much of them
Why does Kant rule out acting morally for your own benefit?
He thinks morality should be completely disinterested. Even if doing the right thing will not benefit you, you should do it anyway, because this is what reason commands
How does Kant justify the fact that this demands alot?
Because it is for the greater good, the summum bonum
What will the summum bonum ecentually bring since it is the greatest possible good?
Happiness
Why can it bring us happiness despite the fact that Kant thinks emotions such as this should not motivate ethical conduct
Because happiness is not a bad thing, it is just that it alone does not provide us within sufficient reason to act morally
How can acting morally often cause the opposite of happiness
Theft, corruption, greed and treating people as a means to an end might make you very rich, which could make you very happy. Honestly, loyalty and putting your interests to one side might leave you worse off, particularly if others do not follow this
Why does Kant argue that the summum bonum must exist
Because otherwise it would not make any sense for reason to direct our actions towards it
How does Kant resolve the issue the summum bonum should bring happiness but acting ethically often doesn’t
He postulates that God exists, as this would ensure that the universe is ultimately fair. He also postulates the existence of an immortal soul, as we need to be able to experience a world where the summum bonum exists - heaven - after we have died. He does not propose that he has proved God and immortality to really exist, but he belives that their existence explains why morality exists, and why is has the character that it does
Challenge this moral arguement for the existence of God
- Why must the summum bonum be achievable in reality. K postualtes God and the afterlife to give moral behaviour some meaning, but he could just as easily accept the summum bonum as an impossibility, but something that we should aim for anyway. K holds that ought implies can, by thinking that because we ought to behave morally this implies that we can achieve summum bonum but this is not necessarily the case
- The entire moral arguement could be considered something of a cop out. K destroyed lots of the arguements for the existence of God and wanted morality to be based on reason rather than personal happiness. He then produces an arguement that suggests but doesn’t prove God’s existence, and also guarantees some notion of happiness in the afterlife. He seems to have capitulated to the demands of his faith and nature
What is conservative Christianity?
Umbrella term for Christians who reject modernising trends within the church and follow a strict or literal interpretation of the bible
What type of law do a small number of these conservative Christians argue society should be brought under?
OT law
What is this position known as?
Theonomy and christian reconstructionism
What do they argue morality is wholly dependent upon?
The rules ordained by God
How does one sympathetic theologian describe theonomy
Every ethical decision assumes some final authority or standard, and that will either be self law (autonomy) or God’s law (theonomy). While atheists consider themselves to be the final authority in deciding what is right and wrong, belivers acknowledge that God alone has this position or prerogative. Our obligation to keep God’s commandments cannot be judged by any extrascriptural standard, such as whether its specific requirements are congenial to past traditions or modern feelings and practises
What would be the negative implications of instituting a gov and legal system rooted entirely in OT teachings
It could require things like the execution of homosexuals, blasphemers and adulterers; an end to freedom of religion and expression, and even the re-instatement of slavery
What are those who support theonomy generally opposed to?
Many of the social changes seen in the latter half of the 20th century
State Psalm 127
Children are a heritage from the Lord
offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth
Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them
What organisation is based on Psalm 127
Quiverfull
What is Quiverfull
A branch of evangelical Christianity which advocates large families and highly conservative domestic arrangements. Followers reject all forms of contraception and birth contro, including the rythmn method advocated by the RCC, as they believe that God is the rightful gatekeeper of the woman’s womb, opening and closing it as he sees fit. Children are his blessing, hence any attempt to prevent conception are an affront to the almighty. Many members of the movement espouse a view known as biblical patriarchy, which advocates male leadership in the home and wider society. It is believed that the woman was created as a helper to her husband, as the bearer of children and that the God ordained and proper sphere of dominion for the wife is the household and that which is connected to the home. Biblical parenting and homeschooling are advocated
Give some quotes from the organisation about how children should be raised and educated
- ‘Christian parents must provide their children with a thorough Christian education, one that teaches the Bible and the biblical view of God and the world. Christians should not send their children to public schools since education is not a God ordained function of civil government and since these schools are sub-Christian at best and anti-Christian at worse
- Teaching itself should be based solely on ‘the word of God and reject methodologies derived from humanism, evolutionism and other unbiblical systems of thought
Where is the Westboro Baptist Church based?
Kansas, USA
What do they use shock tactics that many would find offensive to do?
Spread what they believe to be the word of God
Give the name of the French theologian and protestant reformer they are influenced by
John Calvin
What did John Calvin believe?
He believed humanity to be wholly sinful in nature, a doctrine known as total depravity, and that God has already decided who will be saved, and who will be damned, this is known as unconditional election
What does this mean for their attitudes towards the rest of humanity?
They think much of the rest of humanity are unrepentant sinners, entirely deserving of whatever misfortune God bestows upon them
What slogans expresses the particular disdain they reserve for Christianity?
‘God hates fags’
Why would the vast majority of Christians disagree with this view
Because they would say that the idea that God could hate anything is inconsistent with his omnibenevolent nature
Whose funerals do they picket?
Those who they believe have been justly punished by God
How many of these protests have they conducted
Over 50,000 appearing at memorial services for the victims of mass shootings, US military service personnel and several celebs
List the weaknesses of theonomy
- Philosophically, for the view to be acceptable we have to accept the existence of God, but also the literal truth of the Bible. Denying either of these assumptions makes the position untenable
- You must also be committed to the view that religion should be the sole arbiter of all aspects of legal, political and social life. Many Christians, even conservative ones, would be strongly opposed to any such idea
- The position is considered to be one the furthest fringes of Christian thought
- The anti theist can take the existence of these views as evidence for the claim that religious belief can be dangerous
What does the philosophical position of atheism hold?
That God does not exist
What do atheist arguements tends to point out?
- Philosophical flaws in the arguements for God’s existence
- That the are alternative, often scientific, explanations for the various mysteries religion seeks to solve
How does anti theism go further
They not only deny that God exists, but also believe that belief in God should be actively opposed
What do anti theist arguements say
They usually build upon atheistic arguements and employ historical or sociological evidence to demonstrate the immorality or harmfulness of religious belief
What can most major religions be associated with to prove this view
Some kind of strife or conflict
How does the Westboro Baptist Church support anti theism
They use religion to justify actions that are disrespectful, if not outright hateful
What idea does this support
That religion is not so much dependent on morality than opposed to it. If a belief system leads people to perform such repulsive actions, would it not be fair to say that these beliefs are immoral as well incorrect
Give an example of how extreme the fringes of the pro life movement in the US can get?
They have been known to bomb abortion clinics and murder doctors who perform them
Describe the immoral actions of the Hilltop youth
Small group of Jewish fundamentalists in Israel known to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land, believing they have a divine right to do so. When the Israeli army or local Palestinians attempt to dismantle them, the settlers exact their revenge through vandalism and arson
What religious nationalist groups carry out violence in India
Sikh and Hindu ones
How does even the apparently pacifist buddhism engage in violence
They conduct violence against the Muslim minority in Myanmar, at times with the support of nationalist monks
Who is the evolutionary biologist and champion of scientific rationalism who has become known as the world’s greatest critic of religion?
Dawkins
What does he argue about religion in works such as the God Delusion
That religion is an enemy of science and hence truth and condemns the immoralities faith has sanctioned over the centuries. Central to his case is the success of the Darwinian theory of evolution as an explantion for the existence of life. He thinks there is very little science cannot explain, and that religion only get in the way of scientific enterprise by actively making it more difficult
Why is his style described as militant by opponents
Due to its polemical nature
Who are the other three members of the new atheist movement that appeared at the start of the 21st century
- Christopher Hitchens
- Sam Harris
- Daniel Dennett
Explain Dawkins’ naturalist interpretation of religion and morality
He seeks a scientific explanation for religion, postulating that theism was somehow necessary for survival in early societies. In the present day religion is considered to be nothing short of a plague on humanity. A relationship between religion and morality is explicitly ruled out, although relativism is too; as he argues that ethical behaviour must have an evolutionary basis
Which philosopher makes a moral case against religious belief
RA Sharpe
Sharpe is an anti theist. What does he therefore argue about the commands of Christianity and religion more generally?
That they are immoral
Give a quote where he illustrates this
‘One fact about religious commitment is that it leads its adherents to side aside such ordinary reactions as compassion for suffering’
What biblical example does he use to prove this
Abraham’s ordinary reaction to God commanding he sacrifice his son would have been horror but his faith meant that he set this aside and instead chose for his son to suffer
Why does Sharpe argue that this kind of thinking can be seen in current Christian behaviour aswell
The RCC gives the impression that it is more important to obey God’s commands not to use contraception than not to bring a child into the world that will suffer neglect and mistreatment because it is unwanted by its parents
On what grounds does he argue that it distorts the theists’ motives for doing good actions
Instead of helping others out of compassion, they do it so that reward from God is made available to them through the afterlife
Who argues that religious morality is slave morality
Freidrich Nietzsche
Define master morality
A superior morality that encourages human flourishing
Define slave morality
An inferior morality, based on religion, that encourages virtues that are at odds with human flourishing
Is Nietzsche an atheist or an anti theist
Anti theist
How does he describe master morality
The morality that he praises and thinks should be practised. Based on the idea of human flourishing and ‘the highest power and spleandour of the human type’. How each individual will achieve flourishing is unique because each individual is different. Individuals therefore have to understand themselves and then set their own goals to achieve
Explain his concept of slave morality and its relation to Christianity
Said that it was the dominant morality that had developed in Europe and is strongly associated with Christianity. Associates it with values such as pity, patience, humility and self sacrifice. Says these values are at odds with human flourishing. Teaches man to suffer and be weak in the face of what is wrong, forgiving rather than avenging. Individuals look for injustices to be dealt with in the next life, rather than ensuring justice here. Argues that slave morality is absolutist and universal in that it applies to everybody in the exactly the same way and so prevents individuals from finding their own path to human flourishing
Explain his rejection of SM
He rejects the current state of morality, which is based on religion, because it leads to a bad state of affairs. He rejects that idea that morality is objectively justified or authoratative because of God on the grounds that ‘God is dead’. He takes a relative view of morality and argues that morality is based purely on what individuals deem to value
How does Simon Robertson summarise Nietzsche’s contribution to this debate
As showing that the process of questioning morality is morally valuable
Give a quote from Robertson where he does this
By calling into question the value of moral values, by showing that morality may be obstructive to realising the highest excellences, he places an obligation on anyone seeking to defend the importance of morality to justify the claim that moral values should be able to place constraints on our behaviour
Rebuke the challenges of atheism and anti theism
- The pro theist is likely to argue that it is unfair to hold entire religions to account for the actions carried out by a minority of believers, often with a corrupted interpretation of the faith. However, the anti theist might respond, the problem with religion is the ease with which it can be adopted by zealots who refuse to acknowledge any viewpoint other than their own
- The theist may also draw attention to to atrocities perpetuated by atheistic regimes and groups, such as Stalin’s communist party in the USSR, as evidence that, in the wrong hands, any ideology can be used to serve violent ends
- Arguements about the harm religion causes are guilty of not seeing the wood from the trees. For instance, ISIS are regarded as religious extremeists, but the organisation’s growth is a result of political turmoil which engulfs Syria and Iraq. Likewise while the sectarianism which characterised the troubles in NI could be seen as a battle between Protestants and Catholics, in fact the real division was between unionists and republicans. While the violent movements here have a religious affiliation, on closer inspection, it is bound up with broader social, nationalistic and political concerns
AJ Ayer is an ignostic, What does this mean?
States that religious language is meaningless since we can never prove the existence of a God that is transcendent and ineffable
