Ethics: God and morality part 2

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Ethics: God and morality part 2

(Intro music) My name is Stephen Darwall, and I teach philosophy at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

To see this, let's assume again that (1) God exists and (2) that it's wrong to violate God's commands.

And let us consider different reasons we might have for thinking that it's wrong to violate God's command.

Suppose you think we should follow God's commands because God knows better than we do what we should do.

If that's your attitude, then you're treating God as what philosophers call an "epistemic authority."

You're believing something on God's authority, on his say-so, that is, because God believes it.

This is a natural attitude to have.

We frequently believe things on other's authority.

If a friend of yours knows much more than you do about the law of Missouri in the 1840s, then you might reasonably be inclined to believe something just because she does.

But her having this epistemic authority would not mean that she has the kind of law-making authority that can create law.

Her thinking something was the law would not actually make it the case that it was the law.

To the contrary, her having epistemic authority would itself depend on there being independent truths about the law in the 1840s in Missouri, of which she has knowledge.

So by analogy, if your reason for thinking you should follow God's command is that God knows better than you do what is morally right and wrong, then it would not follow that God makes the moral law.

To the contrary, it would follow that there are independent truths about the moral law of which God has knowledge.

So if that were the reason to follow God's commands, the divine command theory would not be true, it would be false.

Or suppose you think you should follow God's commands not because he knows the moral law, but because he knows what is good and bad for us.

Not in moral terms, but just what would make us better or worse off, what would benefit us or harm us.

But if that's your reason, must you not be assuming that it is true, independent of anything God commands, that morality must somehow concern what promotes human well-being and prevents suffering.

So here again, if this is why you think you should follow God's command, you must be assuming that there are facts about morality that are independent of God's command.

Or suppose you think you should follow God's commands because God has superior authority over us, something in the way a sergeant does over a private, or a legislature does over its citizens.

This reason does avoid the problem that afflicted the last two.

Such authorities really do seem to be able to make it the case that something that would otherwise not have been required or forbidden in itself is required or forbidden, just because they forbid it or require it.

So if God has authority of this kind, then he can make something right or wrong through his command.

But notice that the only way authorities can create requirements or prohibitions in this way is if it is already true that we ought to do as they command.

It's only because the sergeant has authority over the private that the private must do as the sergeant commands.

In other words, the fact that the private must obey the sergeant can't itself result from the sergeant's command.

That has to be true independently of anything the sergeant commands.

So by analogy, if the reason we should do what God commands is that he has superior law-making authority over us, then it must be true that it would be wrong to violate his commands, quite independently of his commanding it.

And if so, the divine command theory would be false.

Or suppose, finally, that you think you should do what God commands because you love God, and we should do what those we love ask us to do.

But here again, if that's your reason for thinking it would be wrong to deny God obedience to his commands, you must be assuming that it is right so to respond to the wishes of those we love, and that this is true independently of whether God commands us to do what those we love ask us to do.

It seems, then, that if we think we should do what God commands for any of these reasons, we must also assume, not that God is the source of morality, but to the contrary: that God cannot be the source of all of morality.

In each case, we must assume that there are moral truths that are independent of God's commands, so we must assume that the divine command theory is false.

Now, we could avoid all of these problems if we were to think not that we should follow God's commands for any of these reasons, but just because of God's omnipotent power.

But then we would lose the contrast between God's power and his authority, and his goodness.

We would have to see his commands as simply imposed us in a way that does not obligate us morally, but rather that obliges or compels us by force, just as law, in general, cannot be created by pure force, so neither can the moral law.

It's logically impossible for morality to result from force.

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Ethics: God and morality part 2발음듣기

(Intro music) My name is Stephen Darwall, and I teach philosophy at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.발음듣기

To see this, let's assume again that (1) God exists and (2) that it's wrong to violate God's commands.발음듣기

And let us consider different reasons we might have for thinking that it's wrong to violate God's command.발음듣기

Suppose you think we should follow God's commands because God knows better than we do what we should do.발음듣기

If that's your attitude, then you're treating God as what philosophers call an "epistemic authority."발음듣기

You're believing something on God's authority, on his say-so, that is, because God believes it.발음듣기

This is a natural attitude to have.발음듣기

We frequently believe things on other's authority.발음듣기

If a friend of yours knows much more than you do about the law of Missouri in the 1840s, then you might reasonably be inclined to believe something just because she does.발음듣기

But her having this epistemic authority would not mean that she has the kind of law-making authority that can create law.발음듣기

Her thinking something was the law would not actually make it the case that it was the law.발음듣기

To the contrary, her having epistemic authority would itself depend on there being independent truths about the law in the 1840s in Missouri, of which she has knowledge.발음듣기

So by analogy, if your reason for thinking you should follow God's command is that God knows better than you do what is morally right and wrong, then it would not follow that God makes the moral law.발음듣기

To the contrary, it would follow that there are independent truths about the moral law of which God has knowledge.발음듣기

So if that were the reason to follow God's commands, the divine command theory would not be true, it would be false.발음듣기

Or suppose you think you should follow God's commands not because he knows the moral law, but because he knows what is good and bad for us.발음듣기

Not in moral terms, but just what would make us better or worse off, what would benefit us or harm us.발음듣기

But if that's your reason, must you not be assuming that it is true, independent of anything God commands, that morality must somehow concern what promotes human well-being and prevents suffering.발음듣기

So here again, if this is why you think you should follow God's command, you must be assuming that there are facts about morality that are independent of God's command.발음듣기

Or suppose you think you should follow God's commands because God has superior authority over us, something in the way a sergeant does over a private, or a legislature does over its citizens.발음듣기

This reason does avoid the problem that afflicted the last two.발음듣기

Such authorities really do seem to be able to make it the case that something that would otherwise not have been required or forbidden in itself is required or forbidden, just because they forbid it or require it.발음듣기

So if God has authority of this kind, then he can make something right or wrong through his command.발음듣기

But notice that the only way authorities can create requirements or prohibitions in this way is if it is already true that we ought to do as they command.발음듣기

It's only because the sergeant has authority over the private that the private must do as the sergeant commands.발음듣기

In other words, the fact that the private must obey the sergeant can't itself result from the sergeant's command.발음듣기

That has to be true independently of anything the sergeant commands.발음듣기

So by analogy, if the reason we should do what God commands is that he has superior law-making authority over us, then it must be true that it would be wrong to violate his commands, quite independently of his commanding it.발음듣기

And if so, the divine command theory would be false.발음듣기

Or suppose, finally, that you think you should do what God commands because you love God, and we should do what those we love ask us to do.발음듣기

But here again, if that's your reason for thinking it would be wrong to deny God obedience to his commands, you must be assuming that it is right so to respond to the wishes of those we love, and that this is true independently of whether God commands us to do what those we love ask us to do.발음듣기

It seems, then, that if we think we should do what God commands for any of these reasons, we must also assume, not that God is the source of morality, but to the contrary: that God cannot be the source of all of morality.발음듣기

In each case, we must assume that there are moral truths that are independent of God's commands, so we must assume that the divine command theory is false.발음듣기

Now, we could avoid all of these problems if we were to think not that we should follow God's commands for any of these reasons, but just because of God's omnipotent power.발음듣기

But then we would lose the contrast between God's power and his authority, and his goodness.발음듣기

We would have to see his commands as simply imposed us in a way that does not obligate us morally, but rather that obliges or compels us by force, just as law, in general, cannot be created by pure force, so neither can the moral law.발음듣기

It's logically impossible for morality to result from force.발음듣기

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