Objectives: SWBAT  Debate the role of religion in morality  Identify the strong and weak forms of Divine Command Theory  Critique DCT

RELIGION AND MORALITY 8.3 Forensics December 6, 2013

Introduction  What is the connection between religion and morality?  Many ethical terms have religious connotations  Religious institutions often endorse certain ethical positions or doctrines  Philosophers disagree over the connection

Introduction  Relates to philosophical questions  Is there a true religion? (Which one?)  Does God exist?  Is there an afterlife?  Suppose God DOES exist  What is the relationship between God and morality?

Divine Command Theory  God is supposed to be superbly good.  “good” is the key word  If the connection is very close  Divine Command Theory Normative ethical theory with two two parts  DCT1 – Something is morally good if and only if God approves of it (Axiology)  DCT2 – An act-token X performed by person P at time T is morally right if and only if X is what God commands or desires P to do at T (normative ethics of behavior)

Divine Command Theory  Was this the right thing to do?  If god wished me to do it at this time, then it was.  If God did not wish me to do that at that time, then it wasn’t  Something like this suggested by  Old Testament  New Testament  Koran

Meta-ethical critiques of DCT  1) People who agree with DCT can disagree about what makes it true:  THE STRONG FORM: God’s approving of it is what makes the thing good or the action right Morality is nothing more nor less than God’s pronouncements, commands and wishes

Two Meta-ethical critiques of DCT  The Weak form  Things are good or actions are right on independent grounds from God’s commandments  It is not God that makes the action right  It is right because God approves of it

 An analogy  An organism is a chordate if and only if it has a heart  An organism is a chordate if and only if it has a kidney  Both these sentences are true, but for different reasons

Euthryphro’s Dilemma  Plato (427 – 347 BCE)  Plato was an Athenian philosopher and student of Socrates  In this dilemma Plato recounts the debate between Socrates and Euthryphro  They are debating the nature of “piety” (goodness)

RELIGION AND MORALITY 8.3 Forensics December 7, 2013

Objectives: SWBAT  Debate the role of religion in morality  Identify the strong and weak forms of Divine Command Theory  Critique DCT

Euthyphro’s dilemma  Is good loved by the gods because it is good, or is it good because it is loved by the gods?  Euthryphro believes that the gods love things because they are good  Socrates concludes that goodness must be something different from being loved by the gods.

Criticism of DCT  God’s commands and attitudes themselves are completely arbitrary  Whatever God commands or approves of is right  It doesn’t matter what the consequences are

Criticisms of DCT  What do we mean by “God is good”?  Does it mean that God approves of God?  I call something “schmood” only if Mr. Headley approves of it  Obviously Headley himself is “schmood”  If good is like “schmood,” why should I care about “good” things more than “schmood” things?

Criticisms of WEAK DCT  Something else besides God makes things good/ right  Doesn’t mean that DCT is false  However, it seems that as an ethical theory, it feels like a cop out and it is missing a fundamental question of right and wrong

Criticisms of WEAK DCT  Does not give us concrete answers on what to do in real situations  We need to know what God commands (DCT 1)  Can we actually communicate with God?  We can consult scripture Which one? Which translation? Often take the form of stories and parables not “Do this, not this”

The 10 Commandments  The 10 commandments give the following criterion for acting morally:  (10C) An act-token X performed by person P ant time T is morally right if and only if (X,P,T) does not violate any of the 10 commandments  Are there acts that violate the 10C that are morally right?  Are there acts that DON’T violate the 10C that are morally wrong?

The big question…. What if God, does not exist?

The existence of God  The question sheds light on the connection of morality and religion in society  Can morality exist without God?

What if God doesn’t exist?  The purpose of human existence?  If God does not exist, then there is no God-given purpose to existence  If there is no God-given purpose to existence, then there is no one right way for a person to live his/her life  If there is no one right way to live one’s life, then there can be no morality  Therefore, if God does not exist, there can be no morality.

What if God doesn’t exist?  The supernatural punishment argument  If God does not exist, then here is no heaven or hell (or karma etc)  If there is no heaven, hell, etc. then there is no motivation for people to act rightly instead of wrongly  If there is no motivation to act rightly instead of wrongly, then there can be no morality  Therefore, if God does not exist there can be no morality