Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Basing moral knowledge on knowledge of God's will is vici... — Carmelics
    Home/Truth & Knowledge
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Basing moral knowledge on knowledge of God's will is viciously circular

    Against an attribute of God
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    2 reasons for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.To verify that God's commands constitute genuine moral knowledge, we must already possess independent moral criteria to evaluate God's goodness.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.This independent moral criterion—used to confirm God is good rather than a deceiver—logically precedes and is epistemically prior to any divine command.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Therefore, the divine command theorist cannot escape Cudworth's 1731 charge: moral knowledge grounds theological knowledge, not the reverse.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Alston's response that God's nature constitutes a non-arbitrary moral standard merely relocates the circularity: we must know God's nature is good before using it as a standard.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Any access to God's nature as a moral standard requires prior moral concepts through which that nature is recognized as praiseworthy rather than merely powerful.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Either God forbids genocide because genocide is wrong, or genocide is wrong because God forbids it
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If genocide is wrong because God forbids it, then God's will is arbitrary or lacks an appropriate moral basis
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Believers who regard God as supremely moral must reject the view that God's will is arbitrary or lacks a moral basis
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Sign in or register to share your perspective on this statement.

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.

    Topics

    Truth & KnowledgeAgainst an attribute of God

    Key Terms

    knowledge(Distinguished from mere true belief, which may be the product of indoctrination and need not exercise deliberative capacities.)
    Justified true belief — true belief that has been arrived at through the exercise of deliberative capacities, including comparison of and deliberation among alternatives.

    Connections

    3 topics

    Justice & Punishment2 linkedMoral Responsibility1 linkedDivine Attributes1 linked

    Related

    Alston's response that God's nature constitutes a non-arbitrary moral standard m...Any access to God's nature as a moral standard requires prior moral concepts thr...Believers who regard God as supremely moral must reject the view that God's will...Either God forbids genocide because genocide is wrong, or genocide is wrong beca...
    +6 moreShow less
    If God forbids genocide because genocide is wrong, then the wrongness of genocid...If genocide is wrong because God forbids it, then God's will is arbitrary or lac...

    Similar

    Moral knowledge can be derived from mere moral beliefs and feelings wi...79%An appeal to God's will that presupposes independent moral wrongness c...77%Believers who regard God as supremely moral must reject the view that ...76%Since the starting points are not assumed to be cases of moral knowled...75%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: moral-epistemology
    View source passageHide passage
    The latter problem arises from a dilemma posed in Plato’s Euthyphro. In this dialogue Euthyphro tries to explain to Socrates that piety is what the gods love. Socrates then asks Euthyphro whether the gods love the pious because they are good or whether the pious are good because the gods love them. To put the dilemma in terms relevant to the present context, consider the view that genocide is wrong because it is contrary to God’s will. (The argument doesn’t change if we talk about commandments o
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    If the wrongness of genocide is logically prior to God's will, then appealing to...
    Therefore, the divine command theorist cannot escape Cudworth's 1731 charge: mor...
    This independent moral criterion—used to confirm God is good rather than a decei...
    To verify that God's commands constitute genuine moral knowledge, we must alread...
    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (2 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit