Ethics! Module 7: Divine Command Theory

God gives you the thumbs up of approval.

Photo: Andrew Eccles / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images.

One widely assumed claim about the link between morality and religion goes something like this: “If there is no God, everything is permitted”. That is, without God there is no morality. In this module, we examine Divine Command Theory, which proposes and defends such a connection.

In this examination, we have 4 learning outcomes. At the end of this module, you will be able to…

Explain what meant by Divine Command Theory,
Summarize some basic elements of Plato’s Euthyphro,
Evaluate the challenges that Euthyphro’s Dilemma raises for Divine Command Theory, and
Compare and contrast Divine Command Theory with Moral Relativism.

Read & Annotate This:

Does Morality Depend on Religion?

Context

The reading from James Rachels and Stuart Rachels (2018) analyzes Divine Command Theory. This is the view, held by many who worship in the Abrahamic faiths, that what is morally right and what is morally wrong is based solely upon the will of God.

In particular, Rachels & Rachels present a dilemma, which (for reasons I’ll explain in my videos) I’ll call Euthyphro’s Dilemma. This dilemma asks, “Is conduct right because God commands it, or does God command it because it is right?”. As Rachels & Rachels go on to show, this presents some difficulties for those who believe that morality and God are inherently linked.

If you are curious to read Plato’s original presentation of Euthyphro’s Dilemma in the Euthyphro (ca. 380 B.C.E./1989), I have included (in the optional “Curious for More?” section below) some excerpts. There you can see Socrates ask his famous question “Is the holy loved by the gods because it is holy? Or is it holy because it is loved by the gods?” (Plato, ca. 380 B.C.E./1989, p. 50). This proves devastating to Euthyphro’s belief that holiness is simply whatever the gods say it is. In the end, Socrates leads Euthyphro to conclude that the commandments of the gods must conform to a standard that is itself independent of the gods’ will.

Finally, the wise student will also notice that the Euthyphro inspired some of Jay-Z’s lyrics in “No Church in the Wild”:

Is Pious pious cause God loves pious?
Socrates asked whose bias do y’all seek?
All for Plato, screech…

Just for fun, I’ve also included (in the optional “Curious for More?” section below) a blog entry by Samuel Ortencio Flores (2019) on Jay-Z’s allusions to works of ancient philosophy in his song lyrics.

Reading Questions

As you read, keep these questions in mind:

How do James Rachels and Stuart Rachels characterize what I am calling Euthyphro’s Dilemma? How does this dilemma apply to the relationship between religion and morality?
Why do Rachels and Rachels believe Euthyphro’s Dilemma presents a challenge to Divine Command Theory?

Although I strongly suggest that you write out brief answers to these questions, you do not have to turn in written responses. You do, however, need to be prepared to answer questions like these on module quizzes and the unit exams.

References

Flores, S. O. (2019, May 16). Blog: Classics and pop music: Classical allusions and literary techniques in the music of Jay-Z. Society for Classical Studies. https://classicalstudies.org/scs-blog/samuel-ortencio-flores/blog-classics-and-pop-music-classical-allusions-and-literary

Plato. (1989). Euthyphro. In R. E. Allen (Trans.), Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Gorgias, Menexenus (pp. 41–58). Yale University Press. (Original work from ca. 380 B.C.E.)

Rachels, J., & Rachels, S. (2018). Does morality depend on religion? In The elements of moral philosophy (9th ed., pp. 50–65). McGraw-Hill.