1A Divine Command Theory

What is Divine Command Theory?

An ethical approach that believes morality is dependent on God

What does 'God as the origin of morality mean'?

Morality comes from/was created by God

What does 'God as the and regulator of morality' mean?

God monitors, reveals to us the correct way to behave and judges our moral behaviour

What does 'right and wrong as objective truths' mean?

Morality exists independently of humans, so is not a matter of human opinion

What does 'complying with divine command' mean?

If we obey God's commands, then moral goodness is achieved.

E.G, Abraham is commanded by God to kill his son, so this becomes a good act

What does 'a requirement of God's omnipotence' mean?

For God to be all-powerful, he must be the origin and regulator of morality.

Euthyphro dilemma: If God commands what's already good, then he is not the creator of goodness, so exists independently of him and he cannot change it

What does 'objective, meta-physical foundation for morality' mean?

Morality is based on God's commands: this isn't only objective (factual, not subjective opinion) but is a meta-physical foundation for morality (morally comes from beyond the physical world: God)

What are the two strengths of DCT?

-Absolutist—> right & wrong is objective, fixed & can be universally followed by everyone; we all have the same duties/rules

-easy to follow & provides clear instructions, based on revelation rather than human reason

What are two weaknesses of DCT?

-Relativism is stronger as it takes into account peoples situations, the outcomes of actions etc. Fletcher believes Jesus was a relativist and that the only fixed rule was to do the most loving thing. Opposes legalism

-Pluralism objection—> there are so many different religions each with different command/scripture & even within a religion there are contradictory commands. This becomes complicated to follow & undermines reliability

What is the euthyphro dilemma?

From Plato's dialogues, 'is something good because God commands it...or does God command it because it is good?'

What are the options of the euthyphro dilemma also known as?

'horns of the dilemma'

What is option 1 of the euthyphro dilemma?

Good is commanded by God because it is good

What are the problems with option 1?

-If goodness is independent of/separate from God, this implies that it wasn't created by God. This is a problem because Christians believe God created the universe out of nothing

-God cannot control or change what is good/bad. This is a problem because this places a limit on God's omnipotence.

What is option 2 of the euthyphro dilemma also known as?

The Arbitrariness problem

What is the Arbitrariness problem? (option 2)

Good is commanded by God, therefore it is good

What are the problems with the Arbitrariness problem?

-Right & wrong are decided on a whim which makes them meaningless

-It begs the question: could God just suddenly decide that murder is morally acceptable?

-Does it become right to do something just because God commanded it, or are somethings just inherently evil?

-There is nothing to stop God commanding cruelty, simply for crueltys sake

What is a Theological Voluntarist?

A supporter of DCT

What are the responses to option 1?

-It contradicts God's nature, so is not logically possible

-Theological voluntarists (supporters of DCT) would therefore argue option 2 instead

What are the responses to the Arbitrariness problem?

-DCT supports this claim as it is in line with God's omnipotence

-Adams' modification of DCT is used to avoid the Arbitrariness problem

What is the pluralism objection?

-There are lots of religions meaning there are numerous understandings of what God is

-There are a variety of sources which sometimes contradict each other e.g consumption of pork is forbidden in the Quran & Torah, but not in the Bible

-Conflicting commands can't all be correct because DCT seems complicated. E.g in the Bible, God commands both the death penalty for adultery and forgiveness

Who is Robert Adams?

contemporary American philosopher who modified DCT

Why did Adams modify DCT?

To solve one of the main challenges directed at DCT: the Arbitrariness problem as it poses the question of whether or not God could command

What 3 possible responses does Adams consider to the Arbitrariness problem?

1. It is logically impossible for God to command cruel actions for their own sake

2. God could command cruel actions for their own sake and, if God commanded it, we would be obliged to obey, it is just that God does not do so

3. It would be against God's omnibenevolent nature to command cruel actions for their own sake- it is logically possible but is unthinkable for a loving God (Adams promotes this option)

Why does Adams reject the 1st possible solution?

1. It is logically impossible for God to command cruel actions for their own sake

This would suggest that God is subject to some external standard of right and wrong

Why does Adams reject the 2nd possible solution?

2. God could command cruel actions for their own sake

This goes against Christian understanding of God as omnibenevolent and understanding of God as omnibenevolent and good. If God could do this, then it would be difficult to say we should always follow his commands and this would undermine DCT

What does Adams' modification focus on?

-The omnibenevolent nature of God. It is logically possible but unthinkable for a loving God to command cruel actins for their own sake

-This ensures that moral commands aren't arbitrary-they arise from the loving nature of God, and therefore cannot contain random content