Does Morality Come From God Phil 2525 Lecture

Does Morality Come From God? Phil 2525 Lecture 6

n Christ was not teaching a new religion n He was calling the people back to their roots n He lived Jewish and he died Jewish

n St. Paul

Christianity adopted Roman political organization… n Pontifex Maximus 1650 Innocent X Tiberius AD 14 II 1990 John-Paul

The secular mind gave way to theological mind… n Secular -- relating to worldly things n Theological – relating to godly things (Theology is the study of religions or religious systems)

n In ancient Greece, reason is the highest value n In Christendom, faith is the highest value

Definitions of believers (or non…. ) n. Theist n. Agnostic n. Atheist n. Deist

Ethics and morality give us the rules by which we live with other people n n they set limits to our desires and actions they tell us what is permitted and what is not they give us guiding principles for making decisions they tell us what we "ought" and "ought not" to do But where do they come from?

n A tablet of virtues hangs over every people

The Ten Commandments

Bertrand Russell: page 49 Man is here by accident n We cannot defy or deny or outlive the grave n The extinction of the solar system will take us all down n

A little warmth. . . in a cold world

6000 years ago…

Divine Command Theory n Make it so. . .

Question that Plato put into the mouth of Socrates Did the gods discover or invent the moral order? Is conduct right because the gods command it? n Or do the gods command it because it’s right? n

Prometheus

Problems for the Divine Command Theory. . . n Socrates’ first option: “Right conduct is right because God commands it. . . ” 1. makes morality mysterious. 2. makes God’s commands arbitrary. 3. provides the wrong reasons for morality.

Problems for the Divine Command Theory. . . n “Right conduct is right because God commands it. . . ” We could not call God ‘good’, because there would be no standard by which to judge. God as the ultimate moral subjectivist. .

Problems for the Divine Command Theory. . . n Socrates’ second option: “God commands it because it is right. . . ” 1. suggests that ‘rightness’ exists outside of or prior to God. 2. breaks the connection between God and morality. God is merely a messenger. . .

The Theory of Natural Law Based on the ancient Greek theory that everything has a place and a purpose. n The world is orderly and rational. n Man has the means to understand the order. n

The Theory of Natural Law n St. Thomas Aquinas’ precepts. . Primary: self preservation n Subsidiary: 1. procreation 2. education of children 3. living in society 4. worshipping God n

Where do the values come from? n The scientists offer descriptions -not prescriptions

n The Divine Command Theory says we should look to God’s instruction. n The Natural Law Theory says that reason will lead us to God’s instruction.

The Ten Commandments

n Take a piece of paper. n List some of the worst problems that our society faces today…

n Take a piece of paper. n List some of the worst problems that our society faces today… n Check mark the ones addressed by

The 10 Commandments 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honour thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet.

Graven images?

n Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce n Angela’s Ashes Frank Mc. Court

The Golden Rule n Ancient Sumer (over 5, 000 years ago): If you take the neighbour’s field. The neighbour will come and take yours. n Rabbi Hillel (at the time of Christ): What is hateful to yourself do not unto your fellow. n Confucius (at the time of Socrates): Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Bertrand Russell’s 10 commandments : 1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything. 2. Do not think it worth while to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light. 3. Never try to discourage thinking, for you are sure to succeed. 4. When you meet with opposition. . . endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory. 5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there always contrary authorities to be found. 6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do, the opinions will suppress you. 7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every "opinion" now accepted was once eccentric. 8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the later. 9. Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient when you try to conceal it. 10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.

Humanist Ten Commandments. . . 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Proclaim the natural dignity and equality of all human beings Respect life and property Show tolerance and open mindedness towards others Share with the less fortunate and those in need Do not dominate and exploit others through lies, or through temporal or spiritual power Rely on reason and logic and avoid superstitions Conserve and improve the earth's natural environment Do not resort to violence or to wars Adopt political and economic democracy Develop one’s intelligence and talents through education and effort

n Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal (Pensees, 1670)

n n “The Year of Living Biblically is about my quest to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible. ” http: //www. ajjacobs. com/books/yolb. asp

n The Jewish Atheist A resource, meeting place and forum for those who want to live humanistic lives without God http: //thejewishatheist. com/? p=71

Lazarus Long. . . n The most preposterous notion that H. sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least

n “I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. ” —Stephen F Roberts

Attendance question. . . n An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest. . . . Spanish proverb What does this mean to you?