Flashcards
The Moral argument
Cards in this deck (22)
- 1The Moral argumentThe moral argument tries to answer the following questions:
Does the fact that we have ideas about what is right and wrong mean God exists?
Is there any point in being moral if God does not exist?
Does Morality depend on God? - 2The moral argument from KantKant rejected all Cosmological and teleological arguments that attempt to prove God's existence as he said that God's existence was not a matter for human knowledge. He argued that it is morally necessary to assume the existence of God, as to explain morality you need to include the belief that God exists
- 3Kant analysed Aquinas' fourth Way and devised his proof of the existence of God based on moral behaviour. Kant believed that everybody had an innate moral awareness: 'Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe... the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me...For Kant, being moral meant following the Categorical Imperative by using reason; God's commands are not the basis for morality. Reason is the basis for morality is not a divine command. Rather, God wills the moral law, which we discover through reason.
- 4In order to explain morality you have to believe that God exists.Kant's argument is as follows:
- 5We are all obliged to do good or be virtuous as we have this innate moral awarenessIn being virtuous we must aim for the highest possible standard.
- 6virtue should be rewarded with happinessThe ideal state where virtue and happiness meet is the summum bonum - the highest good.
- 7The word 'ought' implies 'can' - if we ought to do something it should be possible.Humans can be virtuous but this does not necessarily mean they will be rewarded with happiness.
- 8Therefore there must be a God who has the power to make sure that virtue and happiness coincide. God's existence guarantees that the summum bonum is achievable.This argument does not suggest that there must be a God for there to be morality, but argues that God is needed for morality to achieve its end. Therefore, it is morally necessary to assume the existence of God.
- 9Cardinal Newman supported Kant's argument - he said that the existence of conscience implies that there is someone greater to whom we are answerable - God.Criticisms of the Moral argument
- 10The assumption that 'ought' implies 'can' has been criticised. If Kant meant that it is logically possible to bring about the summum bonum, then all he is saying that it is not a logical contradiction and this does not mean that it actually happens.Kant's second assumption that only God can bring about the summum bonum has been challenged. Brian Davies suggests it could be brought about by a 'pantheon of angels'.
- 11Kant's third assumption that virtue should be rewarded by happiness has also been challenged. Kant rejects the idea that moral behaviour is aimed at achieving a goal or purpose: we should act only out of duty. The summum bonum, however, seems to make the argument teleological. The argument that the summum bonum is achievable implies the idea of a divine reward for a good moral life. This undermines Kant's claim that our decisions must be free to be moral.The challenge from Freud
- 12Sigmund Freud said that our sense of duty and so our moral awareness can be exolained by socialisation. for Kant our sense of duty was based on reason, whereas Freud believed our conscience was the product of our unconscious mind or superego.He believed that the existence of our subconscious is revealed through dreams, trivial mistakes and neuroses - feelings of fear, worry and anxiety which can become obsessions that affect everything we do.
- 13Freud said the mind was divided into three areas:the id - our basic instincts such as desire and appetite.
- 14the ego - the part of the mind which is shaped by external influences such as life experiences like traumas, education, upbringing etc.the superego - the part of the ego and similar to conscience; a form of reasoning ability with which we make decisions, which is shaped by influences that affect us during our development, such as parents, teachers etc.
- 15The superego develops according to the conditioning received by the child as he or she grows up. By saying that our conscience is the result of social conditioning. Freud allows for differences in conscience, but ultimately he says that all moral values are a result of our upbringing and also are subjective.Freud saw religion as an 'obsessional neurosis' which provides a way for people to satisfy their desires for certain things to be true, such as:
- 16The world is orderedLife has meaning
- 17God existsGood behaviour is rewarded after death
- 18This refutes Kant's moral argument. The summum bonum being achievable is very persuasive human desire, but this in no way makes the summum bonum or god, as a postulate of pure reason, a reality.Innate moral awareness - knowing the right thing to do through reason
- 19Categorical Imperative - a command to perform actions that are absolute moral obligations without any reference to circumstances or consequences.Virtuous - having or showing good moral qualities and behaviour.
- 20Summum bonum - the supreme good or happiness that we achieve through doing our duty.Conscience - our sense of moral right and wrong.
- 21Socialisation- the process by which someone acquires a personal identity and learns values, social skills and behaviour from others in society, usually parents or other authority figures.Postulate - Kant uses 'postulate' to mean something that is put forward as a way of solving a problem.
- 22Postulate of pure reason - Kant is arguing that moral reasoning leads to an argument for God's existence, but does this tell us that God actually exists?The end
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- Flashcards on The Moral argument, created by leahhanson15 on 18/03/2015.
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