PHL275H1 Lecture Notes - Secular Ethics, Divine Command Theory
Document Summary
It is often believed that religion and morality are intimately connected, morality would collapse without religion. One basis for this view is that we can only be motivated to act rightly if we know that it will reward is in the long run, in our afterlife. If our motive to act right is just to get our own pleasure, then we shouldn"t be rewarded. A more common view is that morality is based on religion because it is based on god"s commands. god lays down the moral code. 10 commandments, often think of morality as a matter of commands, do this and don"t do that, have to be coming from an extraordinary person ex. Something being right, and something being commanded by god are the same thing. Involves a tendency to give more weight to texts than our own thought. It is another challenge to a contemporary idea of morality, where moral judgments are arrived at by our own reflection.
