My paper, “Can a Divine Command Theory Vindicate the Objectivity of Morality?” has been published in the latest issue of Philosophia Christi. Abstract:Defenders of divine command metaethics (DCM) often argue that one of its key advantages is its ability to vindicate the objectivity of moral judgments. Critics, however, contend that DCM is a subjectivist theory […]
Entries Tagged as 'Blogging'
New publication: “Can a Divine Command Theory Vindicate the Objectivity of Morality?”
August 26th, 2025 Comments Off on New publication: “Can a Divine Command Theory Vindicate the Objectivity of Morality?”
Tags: David Brink · Divine Command Theory · Elizabeth Tropman · Michael Huemer · Objectivism
Problems in Value Theory An Introduction to Contemporary Debates: My Chapter with Graham Oppy is finally published
February 10th, 2020 Comments Off on Problems in Value Theory An Introduction to Contemporary Debates: My Chapter with Graham Oppy is finally published
Yesterday, I was informed that the book Problems in Value Theory An Introduction to Contemporary Debates has finally been published. The book is now available both on amazon on Bloomsbury’s website. Chapter 3 of this book “Does Morality Depend on God?” is co-authored by myself and Graham Oppy (Monash University). Both Graham and I each wrote […]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Graham Oppy
The Naturalness of Belief: New Essays in Theism’s Rationality.
February 10th, 2019 Comments Off on The Naturalness of Belief: New Essays in Theism’s Rationality.
The book The Naturalness of Belief: New Essays on Theism’s Rationality recently arrived from the publishers and is available on Amazon. Matt contributed a chapter to this book entitled “Divine Commands and the Euthyphro Dilemma: Some Naturalistic Misperceptions” The Naturalness of Belief is edited by Paul Copan (Palm Beach Atlantic) and Charles Taliaferro (St Olaf […]
Tags: Books · Divine Command Theory · Euthyphro Dilemma · Naturalism · Publications · The Naturalness of Belief
God and Moral Grounding Power
October 6th, 2018 1 Comment
A common objection to divine command theories of ethics (DCT) is that they make morality arbitrary. There are several ways this objection can be cashed out. The most common is what is called the ‘Horrendous deeds objection’. The Horrendous deeds objection can be formalised as follows: (1) If the DCT is true, then if God commanded […]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Jason Thibodeau
Matthew Flannagan (MandM) and Jason Thibodeau (Secular Outpost) Debate God and Morality
September 24th, 2018 4 Comments
Yesterday, I had a long and enjoyable public discussion with Jason Thibodeau on the topic of The Euthyphro dilemma. Jason is a writer for the Secular Outpost and teaches philosophy at Cypress college in California. He also is the author of a recent article entitled “God’s Love is Irrelevant to the Euthyphro Problem” published in Sophia […]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · Euthyphro Dilemma · Jason Thibodeau
Matt’s book “Did God Really Command Genocide” on sale for $1.99
September 1st, 2018 Comments Off on Matt’s book “Did God Really Command Genocide” on sale for $1.99
As long-time readers of MandM will know, in 2014 I co-wrote a book with Paul Copan entitled Did God Really Command Genocide: Coming to Terms with the Justice of God. Yesterday Baker books have notified me that, for the month of September, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and CBD, are running an ebook promotion on this […]
A common objection to belief in the God of the Bible is that a good, kind, and loving deity would never command the wholesale slaughter of nations. In the tradition of his popular Is God a Moral Monster?, Paul Copan teams up with Matthew Flannagan to tackle some of the most confusing and uncomfortable passages of Scripture. Together they help the Christian and nonbeliever alike understand the biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical implications of Old Testament warfare passages.
Michael Huemer on Wokeness
September 8th, 2025 Comments Off on Michael Huemer on Wokeness
Political Philosopher Michael Huemer weighs in on the question: what is wokeness? I have been known to describe the essence of wokism as “reverse bigotry”. In the past, various forms of bigotry were common: prejudice against blacks, against women, against gays, against transgender people, and more. Wokism proposes, rather than to eliminate bigotry, to reverse […]
Tags: Michael Huemer · Political Correctness · Political Philosophy