Divine Command Theory Flashcards
What is morality?
Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior
According to the divine command theory, what is God?
the origin and regulator of morality
How do we understand what is right and wrong?
Through Gods Commands, ethics and knowledge are therefore objective and and possible
What is DCT dependent on?
God’s nature
- Omnibenevolent
- Omniscient
- Omnipotent
- Omnipresent
Genesis 1:31
Everything God made was good
How has God issued law?
Through scriptures
How is moral goodness achieved?
By complying with God’s commands found through scriptures or church teachings
Why is the theory deontological?
it becomes the duty of the moral agent to obey God’s commands
Strengths of DCT
- Easy to understand as an objective moral system
- Easy to follow
- Aligns with the nature of God as omnipotent
- Universal
Weaknesses of DCT
- Which parts of the Bible to we follow and which don’t we
- What if a law from God goes against our morals
- Can be contradictory ‘thou shall not kill’ ‘an eye for an eye’
- Atheists can be moral
Immanuel Kant
Morality supports religion, it points towards God
BUT:
fear of punishment should not be the motivation for moral goodness
Dostoeveky
Without God ‘everything is permitted’
A.J. Ayer
‘No morality can be founded on authority, even if the authority were divine’
Commanding something doesn’t make it morally right
Euthyphro Dilemma
is right conduct right because God commands it or does God command it because it is right?
Pluralism Objection
Divine Command Theory is unrealistic given the contradictorily nature of God’s commands as claimed by different religions
