DCT: Basics, Motivations, Atheism and Normativity, Need for Moral Law, Moral Guidance. Euthypro Dilemma
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Divine Command Theory: Basics
God decides what is right and wrong. It is right to do what God has commanded (because God commanded it) and wrong to do what is prohibited (because God prohibited it).
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Divine Command Theory: Examples
Judaism, Christianity, Islam. E.g. 10 commandments.
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Motivations
Objective morality. The only thing that matters is what God tells us to do.
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Abraham and Isaac
A moral duty that binds us.
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Motivations
A law given by God is claimed to be: 1. Absolute, 2. Universal, 3. Objective, 4. Known
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Atheism and Normativity
Cannot account for objective morality or normativity (the idea that we ought to do things). Anscombe - we should abandon legalistic language as implies a rulegiver, return to virtues. Satre - existentialism
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Need for Moral Law
Every law, inc. moral law, requires a law maker. Humans cannot be author of moral law, so God is its author.
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Need for Moral Law criticisms
We can have laws without lawgivers e.g. physical, mathematical laws.
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Another motivation
Even if atheists could believe in objective laws they would have no reason to follow them. God gives us a reason for being moral.
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Being motivated by the wrong reasons
If we do the right thing because we fear repercussions or desire reward, we are not acting for the right reasons. We should do the right thing for its own sake.
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Being motivated by the wrong object
Even if not by fear or reward, motivated by God's command. E.g. the morally relevant features of child abuse is what should motivate us to not commit child abuse, not whether or not God has commanded it.
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Moral guidance
Two sources. Direct: divine revelation, indirect: the Bible. But we are human and fallible, so even if there were divine sources of knowledge could we know them?
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Moral guidance: example
Quotes out of context/contradictory. Moral guidance we currently ignore e.g. shaving. The point: doesn't offer easy guidance, open to interpretation
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The Euthypro Dilemma
1. Is what is good good because God commanded it OR 2. does God command it because it is Good?
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Option 1: God creates the moral good
God could make anything right or wrong e.g. murder
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Option 2: God recognises good
Don't need God to see what is good. God is no longer omnipotent.
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
Divine Command Theory: Basics
Back
God decides what is right and wrong. It is right to do what God has commanded (because God commanded it) and wrong to do what is prohibited (because God prohibited it).
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