DCT

Question 1

Whether morality is what God commands (intro)

Answer 1

• Morality isn’t what God commands
• Proponents for DCT or God’s authority try to suggest that due to God’s divine perfection, he must command morality, but this is a weak response to the criticisms of DCT

Question 2

Paragraph One (point)

Answer 2

Euthyphro dilemma demonstrates that God either commands something because it is good, or something is good, so God commands it

Question 3

Paragraph One (evaluate)

Answer 3

Can answer horn 1; God is the creator of the universe, then he is the authority over all aspects of the universe including morality. As Fyodor Dostoyevsky states, ‘If God doesn’t exist, everything is permissible’ - who else would we derive morality from if not the pinnacle of perfection

Question 4

Paragraph One (counter)

Answer 4

Robert Adams what is good is what God commands because his commands are rooted in his omnibenevolent, immutable nature

Question 5

Paragraph One (evaluate)

Answer 5

not omnibenevolent or immutable; in Josh he commanded Joshua to kill everyone in Jericho yet also commanded yet in Exodus ‘You shall not murder’ > arbitrariness problem

Question 6

Paragraph One (conclusion)

Answer 6

euthyphro dilemma cannot adequately be resolved, suggesting that morality isn’t what God commands as this beliefs rests on faith alone

Question 7

Paragraph Two (point)

Answer 7

existence of moral truths. Unlike ethical theories grounded in human reason or societal norms, DCT suggests that moral truths exist independently of human opinion and are accessible through divine revelation. This inherently suggests a cosmic order under which moral laws operate

Question 8

Point Two (evaluate)

Answer 8

theological naturalism like Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law – goodness is linked to the will of God; primary precepts which are perceived with synderesis and through revelation, that are established by God

Question 9

Paragraph Two (counter)

Answer 9

naturalistic fallacy. Makes the mistake of equating morality to God’s command, but morality cannot be reduced to natural properties, good for example, is a simple indefinable concept, to describe goodness as something else doesn’t say what goodness actually is

Question 10

Paragraph Two (evaluate)

Answer 10

supported by the existence of other normative ethical theories. If morality has to be revealed by God to know what is moral, then is it really objective morality? Why not something that seems universal e.g Utilitariniasm and the principle of utility appears to make more sense and align with human behaviour

Question 11

Paragraph Two (conclusion)

Answer 11

the existence of other normative ethical theories, and the fact that it cannot be proven that DCT is more moral than the others, suggests that morality is not what God commands

Question 12

Frankena

Answer 12

‘The standard of right and wrong, is the law and will of God’

Question 13

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Answer 13

‘If God doesn’t exist, everything is permissible’

Question 14

Ockham

Answer 14

‘With Him, a thing becomes right solely because he wants it to.’

Question 15

Adams

Answer 15

DCT is only acceptable ‘If God has the character of loving his human creatures’