Divine Command Theories of Ethics

University of San Diego

2/21/2013

Lawrence M. Hinman, Ph.D.

Director, The Values Institute

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Overview
We will consider three different accounts of the relationship between religion and reason in ethics: Religion takes priority over reason:
Divine command theories Teleological suspension of the ethical

Compatibilist theories Autonomy of reason theories

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Divine Command Theories

These theories claim that something is right because God will it.
Augustine and the voluntarist tradition Clear in Islam, where the will of Allah is the measure of all that is right

Also characteristic of much of fundamentalism in all religions.

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Criticisms of Divine Command Theories

How can we know Gods will? Does divine command theory undermine human autonomy? Can be used to subjugate the masses.

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Abraham and Isaac

In the old Testament, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.
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The Story of Abraham

Genesis, 22:1-10
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
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The Story of Abraham

Genesis, 22:11-19
And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
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The Issue

Gods command that Abraham should kill his only son as a sacrifice to God seems to go against reason and morality The issue: can God ask us to do things that go against reason and morality? Which takes precedence, Gods command or reason?
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The Teleological Suspension of the Ethical

According to Sren Kierkegaard, sometimes it is necessary to suspend the ethical for the sake of God

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Sren Kierkegaard

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Kierkegaard sought to heighten the tension between faith and reason, rather than try as Hegel had done to minimize it. The case of Abraham in Fear and Trembling Either/Or
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Compatibilist Theories

Compatibilist theories say that reason and religion can never contradict one another
Strong: they are saying the same thing Weak: they say different things, but not contradictory things

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Strong Compatibilism

G. W. F. Hegel thought that reason and religion could be completely reconciled. Religion presents same truths as reason, but under a different form, as myth rather than as reason.
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Weak Compatibilism
Thomas Aquinas believed that reason and faith could never contradict one another, but faith may reveals truths beyond the react of reason.

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Supremacy of Reason

Bertrand Russell thought that religion was simply wrong, and reason was the role guide for action.

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Rationalistic Theists
Immanuel Kant believed in God, but felt that even God was subject to the dictates of reason.

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Criticisms of Autonomy of Reason Theories

The heritage of the Enlightenment: belief in reason and autonomy and individualism Challenges to the Enlightenment belief:
Human acts of irrationality: the Holocaust, enslavement of AfricanAmericans, etc.

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A Crucial Distinction

Distinguish two questions:

Content. Can reason provide us with adequate guidelines about how we should act? The answer appears to be yes. Motivation. Can reason provide us with adequate motivation to do the right thing? Here the answer appears to be no.

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Possible Relationships between Religion and Reason in Ethics

Supremacy of Religion Compatibilist Theories Supremacy of Reason

Strong version

All morality based on divine commands Fundamentalism

Reason and religion are identical Hegel

Ethics based only on reason; atheistic or agnostic Russell

Weak version

Teleological Suspension of the Ethical Kierkegaard

Reason and religion may be different but do not conflict Aquinas

Even God must follow dictates of reason Kant

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The Role of Religion in the Moral Life

Key question: Is religion harmful or helpful to the moral life?

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Religion as Harmful to the Moral Life

Karl Marx: Religion as the opiate of the masses, used to enslave them For Marx, religion was only a tool for oppression.

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Religion as Harmful to the Moral Life

Friedrich Nietzsche The Death of God Nihilism Slave morality and ressentiment

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Religion as Transcendence

Supporters of religion point out the way in which the religious consciousness allows individuals to transcend the oppression of their times. Oscar Romero of El Salvador
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Religion and Ultimate Justice

Is religion necessary to insure ultimate justice, that those who suffer in this world will be recompensed and that those who gain in this world through treachery will be punished in the next?

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