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