The moral obligations of reasonable non-believers: A special problem for divine command metaethics
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 65 (1):1 - 10 (2009)
Abstract
People who do not believe that there is a God constitute an obvious problem for divine command metaethics. They have moral obligations, and are often enough aware of having them. Yet it is not easy to think of such persons as “hearing” divine commands. This makes it hard to see how a divine command theory can offer a completely general account of the nature of moral obligation. The present paper takes a close look at this issue as it emerges in the context of the most recent version of Robert Adams’ modified divine command theory. I argue that, despite a valiant attempt to do so, Adams does not succeed in giving an adequate account of the moral obligations of non-believers. More generally, I claim that if divine commands are construed as genuine speech acts, theists are well advised not to adopt a divine command theory.DOI
10.1007/s11153-008-9173-x
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Citations of this work
Can a Worship-worthy Agent Command Others to Worship It?Frederick Choo - 2022 - Religious Studies 58 (1):79-95.
The Psychopath Objection to Divine Command Theory.Matthew Alexander Flannagan - 2021 - European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 13 (3).
In Defence of the Epistemological Objection to Divine Command Theory.John Danaher - 2019 - Sophia 58 (3):381-400.
Moral Normativity: Naturalism vs. Theism.Ferhat Yöney - forthcoming - International Journal for Philosophy of Religion:1-21.
Richard Joyce's new objections to the divine command theory.Scott Hill - 2010 - Journal of Religious Ethics 38 (1):189-196.
References found in this work
Finite and Infinite Goods: A Framework for Ethics.Robert Merrihew Adams - 1999 - Oxford University Press.
Kierkegaard's Ethic of Love: Divine Commands and Moral Obligations.C. Stephen Evans - 2004 - Oxford University Press.
Some suggestions for divine command theorists.William Alston - 1990 - In M. Beaty (ed.), Christian Theism and the Problems of Philosophy. University of Notre Dame Press. pp. 303--326.