[lit-ideas] Re: Inner Moral :Law
- From: Eric Yost <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 02 Aug 2005 15:11:44 -0400
John: St. Augustine, a respected figure in both Catholic and
Protestant circles, claimed that all humans could know what was
moral without any religious faith at all. He thought that one could
not DO what was right without such faith, though.
Eric: Another way to frame the Euthyphro argument:
Is murder wrong because God condemns it? Or does God condemn murder
because murder is wrong?
If murder is wrong because God condemns it, then you have a moral
relativism. God could condemn kite-flying or laughter as the Taleban
asserted. Or God could condemn love as evil if He chose.
On the other hand, if murder is wrong just because it is murder,
then it is wrong whether or not God condemns it, and wrong whether
or not God exists.
Since part of doing what is right and good involves avoiding that
which is wrong, how can Augustine claim that only the faithful can
DO good acts?
Unless you accede to the moral relativism of "Divine Command
Theory," your access to morality is equal to the faithful's.
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