What kind of theory is Divine Command Theory?
A meta-ethical theory.
On what do moral truths depend in Divine Command Theory?
God’s will or commands.
Why are actions right or wrong in Divine Command Theory?
They are right when God commands them and wrong when God forbids them.
What makes a person morally good in Divine Command Theory?
Obeying God’s commands.
What forms the foundation of moral truth in DCT?
God’s nature and will.
How does DCT characterize moral truth in relation to human emotions and cultures?
Absolute and independent of human emotions and changing cultures.
What does DCT reject as the basis of moral truth?
Social agreement or individual feeling.
According to Modified Divine Command Theory, what grounds moral goodness?
God’s commands, arising from God’s perfectly loving nature.
In Adams’s modified theory, when is an action morally right?
When a loving God commands it.
In Adams’s modified theory, when is an action morally wrong?
When it goes against a loving God’s commands.
Which two alternatives does Plato’s Euthyphro dilemma pose about goodness and God’s commands?
Things are good because God commands them, or God commands them because they are good.
Which work presents the dilemma about whether goodness depends on God’s commands?
Euthyphro by Plato.
What do critics say morality becomes if things are good because God commands them?
Morality becomes arbitrary, allowing God to command murder or torture.
Which work is cited for the argument that divine commands make morality arbitrary?
Euthyphro by Plato.
What follows if God commands things because they are already good?
Morality exists independently of God, who is not its source.
Which work is cited for the argument that morality exists independently of God?
Euthyphro by Plato.
What does the pluralism objection say believers disagree about within and across religions?
God’s nature and commands.
Why does religious disagreement make divine commands unclear, according to the pluralism objection?
It is unclear which divine commands are correct.
How does Divine Command Theory characterize moral rules?
They are objective and true for everyone.
What does Divine Command Theory connect God’s omnipotence with?
The power to determine what is morally right and wrong.
Which scriptures may believers consult to identify God’s commands?
The Bible or the Qur’an.
Which command appears in Exodus 20:13?
“Do not kill.”
Why is “Do not kill” considered moral in DCT?
Because God commands it.
Why is zakat considered right in DCT?
Because God commands generosity.
What is a metaphysical foundation for morality?
A non-physical source explaining why moral rules exist and should be followed.
What three attributes does classical theism ascribe to God?
Eternal, unchanging, and necessary.
What does God’s necessary existence mean in classical theism?
God cannot fail to exist.
How does DCT characterize morality based on God’s nature and commands?
Unchanging, eternal, and reliable.
Which philosopher developed Modified Divine Command Theory?
Robert Adams.
What is Robert Adams’s nationality and religious identity?
He was an American Christian.
Why can’t God command cruelty or injustice in Adams’s theory?
They would contradict God’s perfectly loving nature.
What is the arbitrariness problem concerning morality and God’s commands?
The objection that goodness could seem random or change at God’s will.
Which author’s modified theory avoids the Euthyphro dilemma by grounding commands in God’s loving nature?
Robert Adams.
How does Adams’s modified theory retain God as morality’s source?
It grounds morality in God’s commands.
Which author maintains that God is omnipotent, perfectly good, and always commands what is morally right?
Robert Adams.
What criticism says Adams’s theory may provide no moral foundation for nonbelievers?
It relies on belief in a loving God.
What circularity criticism is made of defining God as loving through goodness?
Goodness is defined using itself.
Answer 14 questions on Divine Command Theory.
1. Which claim captures the central meta-ethical position of Divine Command Theory?
2. A person asks why an action counts as right within Divine Command Theory. Which reason fits the theory?
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