Religion and Ethics 1
Relationship between religion and reason in ethics • 3 positions: 1. Religion takes priority over reason: a) Divine command theories b) Teleological suspension of the ethical 2. Compatibilist theories 3. Autonomy of reason theories Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 2
Divine command These theories claim that something is right because God wills it: 1. Plato’s Euthyphro (not Socrates’s/Plato’s position! They criticized it) 2. Augustine (354 -430) and the voluntarist tradition (everything, even e. g. necessary truths of mathematics, depends on God’s will). 3. In Islam, the will of God is the measure of all that is right. Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 3
Criticisms of Divine Command Theories • How can we know God's will? • Who can speak for God? • Does divine command theory undermine human autonomy? • Can be used to subjugate the masses. Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 4
An example: Abraham and Isaac • The Bible, Genesis 22: • God commands the patriarch Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac • Abraham prepares to sacrifice him, then God stops him and rewards him for his obedience • God's command that Abraham should kill his only son as a sacrifice to God seems to go against reason and morality • The issue: can God ask us to do things that go against reason and morality? Which takes precedence, God's command or reason? Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 5
The Teleological Suspension of the Ethical • According to Søren Kierkegaard (1813 -1855), sometimes it is necessary to suspend the ethical for the sake of God • Kierkegaard sought to heighten the tension between faith and reason, rather than try as Hegel had done to minimize it. – The case of Abraham in “Fear and Trembling” – “Either/Or” Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 6
Compatibilist Theories Compatibilist theories say that reason and religion can never contradict one another q. Strong: they are saying the same thing: § G. W. F. Hegel (1770 -1831) thought that reason and religion could be completely reconciled. § Religion presents same truths as reason, but under a different form, as myth rather than as reason. q. Weak: they say different things, but not contradictory things § Thomas Aquinas (1224 -1274) believed that reason and faith could never contradict one another, but faith may reveals truths beyond the react of reason. Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 7
Autonomy of Reason Theories 1. Supremacy of Reason Bertrand Russell (1872 -1970) thought that religion was simply wrong, and reason was the role guide for action. 2. Rationalistic Theists Immanuel Kant (1724 -1804) believed in God, but felt that even God was subject to the dictates of reason. (Such may be considered also Socrates’s position in “Euthyphro”) Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 8
Criticisms of Autonomy of Reason Theories • The heritage of the Enlightenment: belief in reason and autonomy and individualism • But history shows important challenges against the Enlightenment belief: – Human acts of irrationality: the Holocaust, enslavement of African-Americans, destruction of environment, etc. Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 9
Summary Supremacy of religion Compatibilist theories Supremacy of reason Strong version All morality based on divine commands: Voluntarism (even Fundamentalism) Reason and religion are identical (Al Kindi, Hegel) Ethics based only on reason; atheism or agnosticism: Bertrand Russell Weak version Teleological suspension of the ethical: Kierkegaard Reason and religion may be different but do not conflict: Averroes, Thomas Aquinas Even God must follow dictates of reason: Immanuel Kant Based on slides by Prof. L. M. Hinman 10
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