Does morality depend on God?

1
Does morality depend on God?

• Michael Lacewing
• enquiries_at_alevelphilosophy.co.uk

2
From objectivity to God

• The idea of objective moral values is very
  peculiar unless they are part of our
  relationship to God.
• Moral values feel personal commands, duties,
  responsibility, etc.
• Moral feelings are personal guilt,
  responsibility, regret, etc.
• How can people have absolute worth unless this is
  derived from an absolutely good source?

3
Against the link The Euthyphro dilemma

• Does God command what is right because it is
  right? But then moral values exist independently
  of God so their peculiar status returns.
• Is what is right right because God commands it?
  This seems to make morality arbitrary.
• No - because God is good.
• But if God is the standard of goodness, God is
  good is a tautology.
• If God is good is not a tautology, then good
  (and so moral value) is independent of God.

4
God is love

• God is love - this provides the standard for
  saying God is good.
• But then, isnt the foundation of morality love,
  not God?
• No - because the foundation of morality is Gods
  love.

5
Sartre on God and ethics

• God does not exist.
• Therefore, human beings were not made, based on
  some model.
• Therefore, there is no human nature.
• Therefore, responsibility for what we make of
  ourselves and our lives rests with us.

6
Sartre on God and ethics

• However, because God does not exist, there is no
  set system of values to help us choose.
• We are completely free. We impose values.
• Realizing this, we realize we can no longer want
  but one thing, and that is freedom, as the basis
  of all values We want freedom for freedoms sake
  and in every particular circumstance. And in
  wanting freedom we discover that it depends
  entirely on the freedom of others, and that the
  freedom of others depends on ours.

7
Kants argument

• Morality is based on pure reason, not God.
• Our moral duty is to seek the highest good, viz.
  that moral laws are obeyed and that people
  receive what they deserve.
• In this situation, acting morally would make us
  happy acting immorally would make us unhappy.

8
Kants argument

• This is not how this world is. But is this
  situation, the highest good, possible? If it
  isnt, our motivation to pursue it will be
  undermined.
• The only way to suppose it is possible is to
  suppose God - who can bring morality and
  happiness into alignment - exists.
• So, to make complete sense of morality, we must
  suppose God exists.
• Objection must we suppose the highest good is
  possible?