Study Questions

Moral Authority

1.) What is Divine Command Theory?

2.) Why might one hold Divine Command Theory?

3.) What question sets up the dilemma in Plato's argument?

4.) If the divine command theorist holds that morally good acts are willed by God because they are morally good, then she/he seems to deny the divine command theory.  Why?

5.) If goodness is dependent upon God’s will, then goodness looks arbitrary.   Why?

6.) What other problems emerge if one holds that goodness is dependent upon God's will?

7.) What can be true if Divine Command Theory is false, that can't be true if Divine Command theory is true?

8.) How is it argued that without a prior sense of ethical principles and reasoning, one cannot properly consume the teachings of moral authority?

9.) What three examples are given in the argument from 8?