Published July 27, 2009 | Version v1
Journal article Open

What if God commanded something terrible? A worry for divine-command meta-ethics

Creators

Description

Abstract: If God commanded something that was obviously evil, would we have a moral obligation to do it? I critically examine three radically different approaches divine-command theorists may take to the problem posed by this question: (l) reject the possibility of such a command by appealing to God's essential goodness; (2) avoid the implication that we should obey such a command by modifying the divine-command theory; and (3) accept the implication that we should obey such a command by appealing to divine transcendence and mystery. I show that each approach faces significant challenges, and that none is completely satisfying.

Files

article.pdf

Files (449.5 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:c8bba0ac38dae738518a4e9571135463
449.5 kB Preview Download