The Divine Command Theory

What is the main idea behind the Divine Command Theory?

An action is morally right just in case, in performing it, the agent does not violate any of God's commands, whatever those happen to be.

Why did the Manicheans claim that God would not permit natural evil to exist?

1. God is omnipotent, so he could prevent natural evil from happening if he wanted to. 2. God is omniscient, so he knows exactly when and where natural evil is going to happen. 3. God is omnibenevolent, so he would not let natural evils harm innocent human beings (and some innocent human beings are harmed in most episodes of natural evil).

Suppose we interpret DC so that it is not an explanation of what makes right acts right (i.e., we adopt the Divine Advisor interpretation of DC). What would this seem to imply about philosophy, religion, and ethics?

1. The right acts may be the ones that God commands, but this isn't what makes them right. 2. We don't need to consult religious sources to discover ethical truths, so long as we can figure out what moral standard God himself uses. 3. There are some facts that are not subject to God's will.

If a person accepts Theological Voluntarism, which of the following views must they also hold in order to avoid contradicting themselves?

If there were no God, then nothing would be right or wrong.

What was the main point made by Socrates in what we called "The Euthyphro Argument"?

That even if DC is true, God's commands are not what makes right actions right, and so we do not need to approach ethics in a religious way.

Rachels claims that Theological Voluntarism makes morality arbitrary. What does he mean by this?

That if it were true, God's commands would have no rational basis, so we could not really call them (or Him) "good."

Rachels claims that Theological Voluntarism makes morality mysterious. What does he mean by this?

That it is unclear how God (or anyone) could go about "making" moral truths.

Which of the following is an example that might be brought up to support the non-existence of God using the Argument from Natural Evil?

The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755.

What are the two possible interpretations of DC?

Theological Voluntarism and the Divine Advisor Approach (i.e., the view that the actions commanded by God happen to be right, but they're not made right by his commands).

Which interpretation of DC attempts to provide us with an explanation of what makes right acts right—i.e., to explain why right acts are right?

Theological Voluntarism.