The Holy, Necessary Goodness, and Morality

Journal of Religious Ethics 8 (2):330 - 349 (1980)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The notion that "the holy reality wills it" can provide both the rational justification (the move from "is" to "ought") and the psychological motivation for acting morally. But can the will of God be the criterion for the morally right? Although what is right cannot be reduced to what God wills (due to the perceptual aspect of the meaning of "right"), it can be deduced from it, given an understanding of perception that implies that an omniscient perceiver would necessarily be an impartial sympathizer. This, however, presupposes the ideal observer criterion of rightness, which is based upon an appeal to holiness. Recognizing that the criteriological and religious meanings of moral terms are finally identical overcomes the problems of justification and motivation inevitable in apparently non-religious moral theories.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Fools for Christ.Jaroslav Pelikan - 1955 - Philadelphia,: Muhlenberg Press.
The Location of the Holy.Max L. Stackhouse - 1976 - Journal of Religious Ethics 4 (1):63 - 104.
Holy, holy, holy: proclaiming the perfections of God.Thabiti M. Anyabwile (ed.) - 2010 - Orlando, Fla.: Reformation Trust.

Analytics

Added to PP
2011-05-29

Downloads
10 (#1,025,836)

6 months
1 (#1,040,386)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Citations of this work

The religious justification for morality.Axel D. Steuer - 1982 - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 13 (3):157 - 168.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references