Summary
Summary - H573/01 Philosophy of Religion - Moral Argument
- Institution
- OCR
Notes covering the H573/01 Philosophy of Religion topic of the moral Argument, with explanation and notes covering all the necessary content for the exams.
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
Dillon Precious The Moral ArgumentThe Moral Argument:
Thomas Aquinas:
o Aquinas’s fourth way can be taken as an argument for the existence of God that
takes morality as the starting point.
o Everything in the world that exists is more or less good.
o There are varying degrees of excellence.
o There cannot be an infinite scale of good.
o Therefore, there must be something that is perfection, and this is what everyone
understands to be God.
o Aquinas was not arguing for the existence of God from the existence of reality.
He was arguing that we experience things that are good, true, and noble.
These things must take their goodness, truth, and nobility from something
that is more good, true, and noble.
o There cannot be an infinite regression of goodness.
There must be something that is ultimate good. This is what we know as
God.
o The idea derives from ideas about Causation – something must be the cause of the
noble things that we experience.
The goal (or telos) that humanity strives to is this ultimate good.
Common themes:
All moral arguments work on the principle that most people have some experience of
morality. Or do they?
o Most people feel that they have certain obligations about how they should / should
not behave.
o And most people also have a similar understanding of what is right and wrong,
despite cultural differences.
Three possible solutions:
Morality stems from God, either through our conscience or an objective set of rules that He
has built into us (H.P Owen and Cardinal Newman).
o Morality as derived from God – H.P Owen’s argued that the existence of moral
objective laws suggests that there is a divine lawgiver who “wrote” those laws.
“A command suggests a commander” – assumes that there is a command in
the first place. “Either moral claims are self-explanatory modes of
impersonal existence, or we explain then in terms of a personal God.”
Owen’s point was that since commands and laws do not write themselves,
they must be either brute facts, requiring no explanation or have put there
by God – Dom Trethowen supports this idea.
Morality stems from objective approval of the word, which reveals that there are certain
goals and aims to be aimed for and upheld. This leads us to endorse some actions as good
and others as bad (Dom Trethowan and Kant).
Morality stems from demands placed upon the humans by living in societies. Rules meet the
needs of a particular situation and facilitate human developments in that context. This
explains morality without God and can change as necessary.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller dillon43. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £4.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
66579 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now