This is first half of the paper I presented to the Naturalisms in Ethics Conference at Auckland University last year. In many of his addresses and debates William Lane Craig has defended a Divine Command Theory of moral obligation (“DCT”). In a recent article Walter Sinnott-Armstrong has criticized this contention.[1] Armstrong contends that even if [...]
Entries Tagged as 'God and Morality'
Is Ethical Naturalism more Plausible than Supernaturalism? A Reply to Walter Sinnott-Armstrong Part I
February 7th, 2012 7 Comments
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Robert Adams · Walter Sinnott-Armstrong · William Lane Craig
Contra Mundum: When Scientists Make Bad Ethicists
October 10th, 2011 387 Comments
One thing I find particularly frustrating is reading commentary on theology and philosophy written by scientists. To be fair, some scientists I have read are informed and do offer astute and insightful comments; commonly, however, one finds a person who is undoubtedly brilliant in their own field, writing with confident gusto, articles that fail to [...]
Tags: Charles Darwin · Contra Mundum · Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Investigate Magazine · Jerry Coyne · Robert Adams · Science and Religion
Does Moral Commitment Presuppose Belief in Providence?
July 21st, 2011 36 Comments
Last week I had the privilege of hearing Professor John Hare, of Yale Divinity school, speak on God and morality at the Naturalisms in Ethics and APRA conferences. One idea Hare proposes, which fascinates me, is that commitment to morality presupposes belief in what he calls “strong providence” the position that “the world is so [...]
Tags: God and Morality · Happiness · John Hare
Transcript: Sam Harris v William Lane Craig Debate “Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural?” UPDATED
May 3rd, 2011 45 Comments
Sam Harris and William Lane Craig debated the moot “Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural?” at the University of Notre Dame on 7 April 2011. We’ve already linked to the debate MP3 and a playlist of the video and we have published a two part review but now, as an MandM exclusive, we bring [...]
Tags: Debates · Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural? · Notre Dame · Sam Harris · Transcript · William Lane Craig
Debate Review: Sam Harris and William Lane Craig on Ethical Naturalism Part II
April 18th, 2011 41 Comments
In Part I of my review of the debate between Sam Harris and William Lane Craig on the moot “Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural? I discussed Craig’s defence of the contention that: 1. If God exists then we have a plausible account of (a) the nature of moral goodness and (b) the nature of [...]
Tags: Debates · Ethical Naturalism · God and Morality · Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural? · Notre Dame · Robert Adams · Sam Harris · Wes Morriston · William Lane Craig
Debate Review: Sam Harris and William Lane Craig on Divine Command Theory Part I
April 13th, 2011 53 Comments
Last week Sam Harris and William Lane Craig debated the question: “Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural?” at the University of Notre Dame. Given my interest in divine command meta-ethics I found the debate and the subsequent online discussion concerning it extremely interesting. I was particularly interested in how the ‘new atheist’ movement would [...]
Tags: Debates · Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural? · Notre Dame · Philip Quinn · Robert Adams · Sam Harris · William Lane Craig
Ethical Naturalism and the Euthyphro Dilemma
April 12th, 2011 9 Comments
Some people argue that moral obligations can be grounded in scientifically verifiable facts about human wellbeing and flourishing. This view is a form of ethical naturalism. For these people moral rightness is just the property of promoting or enhancing human flourishing. Plato refuted this argument over 2,000 years ago in his famous dialogue The Euthyphro. The [...]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · Ethical Naturalism · Euthyphro Dilemma · God and Morality · Humour · Plato
Video of Matthew Flannagan Speaking on Divine Command Theory
February 7th, 2011 10 Comments
On 4 February 2011 the Auckland Reason and Science Society (“RSS”) hosted an event they titled “Divine Command Theory with Dr. Matthew Flannagan” at the University of Auckland. For those of you who missed the event, here is the video. Note: This video only includes footage of the talk itself and not the Q&A that [...]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · MandM on Video · Reason and Science Society
Contra Mundum: Is God a 21st Century Western Liberal?
February 1st, 2011 15 Comments
On 11 September 2001 Islamic terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Centre killing thousands of innocent people. Ostensibly they did this because they believed God commanded them to do so. This event has invigorated a fear latent in the Western psyche since the 17th century when wars of religion tore Europe apart, the [...]
Tags: 9/11 · Contra Mundum · God and Morality · Hermeneutics · J J Finkelstein · Raymond Bradley · Raymond Westbrook · Robert Adams · World Trade Centre
Nietzsche on Over-Compensating
January 25th, 2011 61 Comments
They are rid of the Christian God and now believe all the more firmly that they must cling to Christian morality. They must rehabilitate themselves after ever little emancipation from religion by showing in a veritably awe-inspiring way what moral fanatics they are. That is their penance. Friedrich Nietzsche
Tags: Friedrich Nietzsche · God and Morality
