Argument from morality

 

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The argument from morality is an argument for the existence of God. Many variations on the argument exist; they all start from a claim about morality (either that moral objectivity exists in the world or that there must be a moral order in the universe), argue that God is the best explanation for this claim, and conclude that God must exist. The argument from morality is best associated with Immanuel Kant who argued from practical reason that God must exist to provide an eternal life in which moral virtue can be rewarded with happiness. Other forms of the argument propose that a naturalistic account of the existence of morality would render it illusory, arguing that God must exist to give force to moral obligations.

General form

All variations on the argument from morality begin with some observation about moral thought or experiences and conclude with the existence of God. Arguments from morality can be based on moral normativity, which suggests that objective moral truths and the binding nature of obligations suggests a high power to enforce them, regarded as God. This rests on an acceptance in moral realism - the belief that there are objective moral truths - which has been supported by the appearance of objectivity in ethics. For example, expressing an obligation is stronger than expressing a preference, and certain moral principles, such as "torturing babies for fun is wrong", are generally regarded as fact.

In its most general form, the argument from moral normativity is that:

1. Some aspect of Morality (e.g., its objective force) is observed. (Moral realism)
2. Existence of God provides a better explanation of this feature than various alternatives.
3. Therefore, to the extent that (1) is accepted, belief in God is preferable to these alternatives.

Arguments from morality can also be based on moral order. These arguments suggest that morality is based on rationality and that morality can only be based on rationality if there is a moral order in the universe. Therefore, there must be a moral order in the universe. The arguments then propose that only the existence of God as orthodoxly conceived could support the existence of moral order in the world. Therefore, God must exist.

Alternatively, arguments from moral order have proposed that we have an obligation to attain the perfect good of both happiness and moral virtue. Whatever we are obliged to do must be possible, and achieving the perfect good of both happiness and moral virtue is only possible if a natural moral order exists. A natural moral order requires the existence of God as orthodoxly conceived, so god must exist.

Variations

Practical reason

Portrait of Immanuel Kant, who proposed an argument for the existence of God from morality

In his Critique of Pure Reason, German philosopher Immanuel Kant states that there is not a good argument for God's existence that arises from pure reason alone. In his Critique of Practical Reason, he went on to argue that despite the failure of these arguments, rationality requires that the existence of God is presupposed, owing to practical reason. Rather than proving the existence of God, Kant was attempting to demonstrate that all moral thought requires the assumption that God exists. Kant argued that humans are obliged to bring about the summum bonum: the two central aims of moral virtue and happiness, where happiness arises out of virtue. As ought implies can, Kant argued, it must be possible for the summum bonum to be achieved. He accepted that it is not within the power of humans to bring the summum bonum about, because we cannot ensure that virtue always leads to happiness, so there must be a higher power who has the power to create an afterlife where virtue can be rewarded by happiness.

Argument from moral normativity

The argument from moral normativity (or from evolutionary naturalism) proposes that theists are able to offer justification for morality, while atheists are not. The argument proposes that evolutionary naturalism - biological and sociological explanation of humanity - leads to the belief that morality is illusory and exists as a result of natural selection. Variations of this argument generally propose that evolutionary naturalism entails that no objective moral truths exist, but assert that objective moral truths do exist. Therefore, evolutionary naturalism must be wrong. This does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that God exists; it has been used as a supporting argument for God's existence.

CS Lewis, addressing the naturalistic philosophy of Charles Darwin, proposed an argument from the normativity of morality for the existence of God. He proposed that, if naturalism - the belief that nature is all that exists - is correct, then life must be regarded as a meaningless accident and it makes no sense for there to be an objective morality. Despite this, naturalists still act as if there are objective moral values, leading Lewis to believe that morality is normative and hold objective truth. As an alternative ethical theory, Lewis offered a form of divine command theory which equated God with goodness and treated goodness as an essential part of reality.

Bibliography

• Adams, Robert (1987). The Virtue of Faith and Other Essays in Philosophical Theology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195041460. 
• Boyd, Richard (1988). Sayre-McCord, Geoffery. ed. Essays on Moral Realism. Cornell University Press. Moral Arguments for Theistic Belief. ISBN 9780801495410. 
• Craig, William Lane; Mooreland, J.P. (2011). The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781444350852. 
• Guyer, Paul (2006). Kant. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415283359. 
• Hare, John (1996). The Moral Gap: Kantian Ethics, Human Limits, and God's Assistance. Oxford University Press. 
• Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Practical Reason. Part I, Bk. II, Chap. V. 
• Mackie, J.L. (1982). The Miracle of Theism. Oxford University Press. Chap. VI. 
• McSwain, Robert; Ward, Michael (2010). The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521884136. 
• Oppy, Graham (2006). Arguing About Gods. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521863865. 
• Swinburne, Richard (1979). The Existence of God. Oxford University Press. 

External links

• Moral Arguments at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• "Kant's 'Appropriation' of Lampe's God", Harvard Theological Review 85:1 (January 1992), pp. 85–108; revised and reprinted as Chapter IV in Stephen Palmquist, Kant's Critical Religion (Ashgate, 2000).