Lawrence M. Hinman, Ph.D. Director, The Values Institute University of San Diego 6/9/2015(c) Lawrence M. Hinman1 Divine Command Theories of Ethics

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman2 Abraham and Isaac In the old Testament, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac.

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman3 The Issue n God’s command that Abraham should kill his only son as a sacrifice to God seems to go against reason and morality n The issue: can God ask us to do things that go against reason and morality? Which takes precedence, God’s command or reason?

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman4 The Teleological Suspension of the Ethical n According to Søren Kierkegaard, sometimes it is necessary to suspend the ethical for the sake of God

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman5 Compatibilist Theories n 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

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman6 Strong Compatibilism n G. W. F. Hegel thought that reason and religion could be completely reconciled. n Religion presents same truths as reason, but under a different form, as myth rather than as reason.

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman7 Weak Compatibilism Thomas Aquinas believed that reason and faith could never contradict one another, but faith may reveals truths beyond the react of reason.

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman8 Supremacy of Reason n Bertrand Russell thought that religion was simply wrong, and reason was the role guide for action.

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman9 Rationalistic Theists Immanuel Kant believed in God, but felt that even God was subject to the dictates of reason.

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman10 Criticisms of Autonomy of Reason Theories n The heritage of the Enlightenment: belief in reason and autonomy and individualism n Challenges to the Enlightenment belief: –Human acts of irrationality: the Holocaust, enslavement of African- Americans, etc.

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman11 A Crucial Distinction n 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.”

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman12 Possible Relationships between Religion and Reason in Ethics Supremacy of Religion Compatibilist Theories Supremacy of Reason Strong versionAll morality based on divine commands n Fundamentalism Reason and religion are identical n Hegel Ethics based only on reason; atheistic or agnostic n Russell Weak versionTeleological Suspension of the Ethical n Kierkegaard Reason and religion may be different but do not conflict n Aquinas Even God must follow dictates of reason n Kant

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman13 The Role of Religion in the Moral Life n Key question: Is religion harmful or helpful to the moral life?

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman14 Religion as Harmful to the Moral Life n Karl Marx: Religion as the opiate of the masses, used to enslave them n For Marx, religion was only a tool for oppression.

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman15 Religion as Harmful to the Moral Life Friedrich Nietzsche n The Death of God n Nihilism n Slave morality and ressentiment

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman16 Religion as Transcendence n Supporters of religion point out the way in which the religious consciousness allows individuals to transcend the oppression of their times. n Oscar Romero of El Salvador

6/9/2015 (c) Lawrence M. Hinman17 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?