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

2. RELIGION AND MORALITY 8.3 Forensics November 5, 2014

4. 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

5. 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?

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. RELIGION AND MORALITY 8.3 Forensics December 7, 2013

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

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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”

17. 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?

18. Obligatory, Permissible, Forbidden 1. A runaway trolley is about to run over five people walking on the tracks. A railroad worker is standing next to a switch that can turn the trolley onto a side track, killing one person, but allowing the five to survive. Flipping the switch is ______. 2. You pass by a small child drowning in a shallow pond and you are the only one around. If you pick up the child, she will survive and your pants will be ruined. Picking up the child is _______. 3. Five people have just been rushed into a hospital in critical care, each requiring an organ to survive. There is not enough time to request organs from outside the hospital. There is, however, a healthy person in the hospital’s waiting room. If the surgeon takes this person’s organs, he will die but the five in critical care will survive. Taking the healthy person’s organs is _______.

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

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

21. 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.

22. 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