GE 8 -

ETHICS
 BIBLE VERSES
1 Timothy 2:9
“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and
propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles
or gold or pearls or expensive.”

Leviticus 19:28
“Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on
yourselves.”

Leviticus 19:16
“Do not go about spreading slander among your people.”
 Exploring

DIVINE
COMMAND
THEORY AND
NATURAL LAW
THEORY
in GE 8 - ETHICS
PREPARED BY: EDMAR JOHN
MAGALLANES
 LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
IN A 3 HOUR SESSION, 85% OF THE STUDENTS
EXPECTED TO:
• IDENTIFY THE BASES OF DIVINE COMMAND
THEORY AND NATURAL LAW THEORY;
• ANALYZE THE INFLUENCE OF DIVINE
COMMAND THEORY AND NATURAL LAW
THEORY THROUGH AN ESSAY;
 LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
• APPRECIATE THE RULES AND MORAL BASES
THAT CONTRIBUTES TO DIVINE COMMAND
THEORY AND NATURAL LAW THEORY.
 DIVINE
COMMAND
THEORY
 BIBLE

• THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF WHERE

MORALITY COMES FROM ACCORDING TO
BILLIONS OF PEOPLE.
IF YOUR WORLDVIEW TELLS YOU THAT “THAT
GOD IS THE CREATOR OF EVERYTHING”, IT’S
REASONABLE TO BELIEVE THAT HE’D ALSO
CREATE A DIVINE RULEBOOK- A SORT OF
OWNER’S MANUAL FOR HUMAN MORALITY.
 DIVINE COMMAND
THEORY
• THE OLDEST AND MOST WIDELY HELD
ETHICAL THEORY IN THE WORLD.
• THE BELIEF THAT WHAT’S MORAL AND
WHAT’S IMMORAL IS COMMANDED BY THE
DIVINE.
• AN ETHICAL THEORY OF CHOICE
 PLATO

• ONE OF THE CRITIQUES OF DIVINE

COMMAND THEORY
• WROTE THE DIALOGUE “EUTHYPHRO”
 THE EUTHYPRHO DIALOGUE
• THE DIALOGUE THAT STARS HIS REAL-LIFE
TEACHER, SOCRATES AND EUTHYPHRO.
• IT WAS SET OUTSIDE THE ATHENIAN
COURTHOUSE AS THE TWO MEN WAITS FOR
THEIR RESPECTIVE TRIALS.
 THE EUTHYPRHO PROBLEM
• ARE RIGHT ACTIONS RIGHT BECAUSE GOD
COMMANDS THEM?
• OR ARE RIGHT ACTONS COMMANDED BY
GOD BECAUSE THEY ARE RIGHT?
 DILEMMA

A SITUATION IN WHHICH YOU ARE FORCED TO

CHOOSE BETWEEN TWO OPTIONS, BOTH OF
WHICH LEAD TO UNPLEASANT RESULTS
 1 SOCRATES’ DILEMMA
ST

• RIGHT ACTS ARE RIGHT BECAUSE GOD

COMMANDS THEM
• THIS MEANS ACCEPTING GOD’S COMMAND
ALONE IS SIMPLY WHAT MAKES
SOMETHING RIGHT
 SCENARIO
GOD SHOWS UP. HE TELLS YOU THAT HE CHANGED HIS
MIND ABOUT MORALITY. “THE 10 COMMANDMENTS ARE
OUT!” HE SAID, OR RATHER THEY’VE BEEN REVERSED.
YOU ARE NOW COMMANDED TO KILL, STEAL, COMMIT
ADULTERY AND SO FORTH. GOD SAYS HE UNDERSTANDS
THAT THIS IS CONFUSING, BUT HE ASSURES YOU THAT HE
KNOWS BEST AND THIS HAS BEEN PART OF HIS PLANS ALL
IF GOD DETERMINES THE RIGHTNESS AND
WRONGNESS OF EVERYTHING JUST BY
SAYING SO, THEN THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF
GOODNESS AND VALUE BECOMES VACUOUS
 2
ND
SOCRATES’ DILEMMA

• DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO SAY THAT GOD

COMMANDS THINGS BECAUSE THEY’RE
GOOD?
• THIS MEANS GOD ISN’T OMNIPOTENT
• THIS ALSO MEANS THAT SOMETHING
OUTSIDE OF GOD IN SOME SENSE BINDS
HIM AND HIS COMMANDS
IF THERE’S SOME STANDARD OF GOODNESS
THAT GOD HAS TO STICK TO WHEN MAKING
COMMANDMENTS, THEN THAT MEANS THAT
THERE MUST BE THINGS THAT GOD CAN’T
COMMAND
ONCE YOU ACCEPT THIS DILEMMA, YOU SOON
FIND THAT GOD AND HIS RELIGIOUS TEXTS
MUST BE SUPERFLUOUS, IT BECOMES A
SHORTCUT TO UNDERSTATNDING THE
ORIGINAL SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE
 CONCLUSION ON DIVINE COMMAND
THEORY

EITHER GOD IS BOUND BY A STANDARD

OUTSIDE OF HIMSELF, OR GOD’S GOODNESS
DOESN’T REALLY MEAN ANYTHING.
 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

HE THOUGHT THAT MORALITY WAS

IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE, AND THAT BEING
A GOOD PERSON WAS A VITAL PART OF GOD’S
PLAN FOR EACH OF US.
 NATURAL LAW THEORY

• GOD MADE US PRE-LOADED WITH THE

TOOLS WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT’S GOOD.
• IT IS BASED ON THE IDEA THAT GOD WANTS
US TO WANT THINGS, SPECIFICALLY, GOOD
THINGS.
AQUINAS ARGUED THAT GOD CREATED THE
WORLD ACCORDING TO NATURAL LAWS,
PREDICTABLE, GOAL-DRIVEN SYSTEMS
WHEREBY LIFE IS SUSTAINED, AND
EVERYTHING FUNCTIONS SMOOTHLY.
 THE BASIC GOODS

• LIFE
• REPRODUCTION
• EDUCATE ONE’S OFFSPRING
• SEEK GOD
• LIVE IN SOCIETY
• AVOID OFFENSE
• SHUN IGNORANCE
 THE BASIC GOODS

• LIFE
• REPRODUCTION
• EDUCATE ONE’S OFFSPRING
• SEEK GOD
• LIVE IN SOCIETY
• AVOID OFFENSE
• SHUN IGNORANCE
 JEAN-PAUL SARTRE

HE AGREED TO AQUINAS AND SAID THAT WE

ARE BORN WITH A GOD-SHAPED HOLE INSIDE
US
WHILE SHORT PERIOD OF SOLITUDE CAN BE
GOOD, AQUINAS BELIEVED THAT WE ARE
BASICALLY PACK ANIIMALS, AND OUR DESIRE
FOR LOVE AND ACCEPTANCE, AND OUR
SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PEER PRESSURE ARE ALL
EVIDENCE OF THIS
 “WE DON’T NEED THE BIBLE, OR RELIGION
CLASS, OR CHURCH IN ORDER TO
UNDERSTAND THE NATURAL LAW, OUR
INSTINCTS SHOWS US THE BASIC GOODS, AND
REASONS ALLOWS US TO DERIVE THE
NATURAL LAW FROM THEM.”
 PROHIBITION AND POSITIVE
INJUCTION
EXAMPLE:
BASIC GOODS= LIFE
• PROHIBITION= DO NOT KILL
• POSITIVE INJUNCTION= PROMOTE LIFE
BASIC GOODS= REPRODUCTION
• PROHIBITION= DO NOT PREVENT
REPRODUCTION
 QUESTION ON NATURAL LAW THEORY

IF GOD CREATED TO SEEK THE GOOD AND IF

WE ARE BUILT WITH THE ABILITY TO
RECOGNIZE AND SEEK IT, THEN WHY DO
PEOPLE VIOLATE THE NATURAL LAW?
ACCORDING TO AQUINAS, SOMETIMES, WE
SEEK WHAT WE THINK IS GOOD, BUT WE ARE
WRONG BECAUSE WE ARE JUST IGNORANT
NO MATTER HOW AWESOME GOD MADE YOU,
OR YOUR DESIRES, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOME
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO BE AWESOME.
SOMETIMES, WE SEE WHAT WE SHOULD DO,
BUT EMOTION OVERPOWERS OUR REASON,
AND WE FAIL TO DO THINGS WE KNOW WE
SHOULD.
 IS-OUGHT PROBLEM

ACCORDING TO DAVID HUME, IT IS

FALLACIOUS TO ASSUME THAT JUST BECAUSE
SOMETHING IS A CERTAIN WAY, THAT MEANS
THAT IT OUGHT TO BE THAT WAY.
 IS-OUGHT PROBLEM

EXAMPLE:
WE LOOK AT NATURE AND SEE THAT CREATURES HAVE
STRONG SURVIVAL INSTINCTS AND WE CONCLUDE THAT
SURVIVAL INSTINCTS ARE “GOOD”, OR ARE THEY?
SURVIVAL INSTINCTS COULD OR MIGHT CAUSE ME TO DO
ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT LOOK IMMORAL TO OTHER
PEOPLE.
 CONCLUSION ON NATURAL LAW
THEORY
• IT TELLS US THAT MORALITY IS GROUNDED
IN GOD, THAT HE CREATED THE MORAL
ORDER. IT ALSO GIVES US THE REASON TO
BE MORAL – FOLLOWING THE NATURAL
LAW MAKES OUR LIVES WORK BETTER.