Pdf kants religious argument for the existence of god. They have gods general revelation of his basic moral law in their conscience. Arguments from moral normativity observe some aspect of morality and argue that god is the best or only explanation for this, concluding that god must exist. As most intellectually honest atheists are forced to admit there are no moral absolutes and no place for genuine moral obligations of any sort. There have been a number of efforts to create naturalistic theories of ethics which in no way rely upon gods. Humans do not have to find out what is moral by reading the bible such knowledge is available to all people. Pdf kants moral argument for the existence of god william. Humans cannot be the cause as we are part of nature, and therefore not the cause of nature reason. Moreover, the argument is extremely vulnerable to religious pluralism as it uses religions as the foundation and many religions and their denomination have emerged in different time periods. The moral argument for the existence of god audio download by eric lyons the moral argument for god s existence exposes atheism as the selfcontradictory, atrocious philosophy that it is.
Michael martin and the moral argument for gods existence. How does the moral argument support the existence of god. The critique of pure reason 1 st, the critique of practical reason 2 nd, and the critique of judgement 3 rd. You can also read more about the friends of the sep society. Moral argument for the existence of god audio download. Moral argument anthropological argument immanuel kant all people possess a sense of morality. The argument from the paucity of benign mutations d.
We do not act morally to gain brownie points to be worthy of happiness. This essay tries to show that there exist several passages where kierkegaard and his pseudonyms sketches an argument for the existence of god and immortality that is remarkably similar to kants so. This is not moral and goes against the deontological nature of his ethical theory. In presenting this argument i suppress the premises involving double negation, since these are readily assumed. Thus god exists in the understanding, even if not in reality. The moral argument this is an argument for the existence of god. The argument from morality is an argument for the existence of god. The first chapter contains kants moral argument for the existence of god. Lewis moral argument for the existence of god philipos, milad zekry on. In the 18th century, immanuel kant looked at the reverse contention in his moral argument for the existence of god. Doc moral argument for the existence of god mark r. Looking for distance learning resources for your religion classes. The moral argument for the existence of god and immortality.
Moral arguments for the existence of god come in variety of different formulations. The argument is based on what kant called the categorical imperative, which he stated like this. The more a recording sounds like the original, the better it is. In one of these aquinas argues that an infinite chain of finite causes is impossible.
I am saying that there are objective features of realty actpotency, teleology, formmatter, natures, existence that account for the objectivity and in an important sense the very existence of morality irrespective of god. This paper has briefly examined the history of the moral argument for the existence of god, beginning with kant and ending with lewis. First, it has not been shown that ethical statements can only be objective if you presume theism. God is the standard of moral values just as a live musical performance is the standard for a highfidelity recording. Whether or not god exists is the most important question for humanity. The moral argument of gods existence the christian post. Evidence for this can be found in the amazing popularity of c. By analogy, this is what im doing with the moral argument. The most acknowledged formal argument is the one used by william lane craig which is as follows.
Arguments from morality tend to be based on moral normativity or moral order. Probably the most influential versions of the moral argument for belief in god can be traced to kant 1788 1956, who famously argued that the theoretical arguments for god s existence were unsuccessful, but presented a rational argument for belief in god as a postulate. Atheists must admit that objective morality exists, yet refuse the only logical conclusionthat god exists, or. His was an argument that sought to explain the existence of moral duty, which is what weve come to expect of moral arguments. The moral argument for the existence of god has been stated in a variety of ways through the centuries. Mackie, simply reject the objectivity of morals, embracing instead moral relativism.
Or more to the point, seeing as i suspect that the argument is actually sound, im dissatisfied with how he normally defends the argument. According to this argument, there couldnt be such a thing as morality without god. Anthropic arguments suggest a fine tuned universe as the prerequisite for life. If god does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist. Instead of assuming the existence of god and inferring his presence in our conscience, kant begins with the moral obligation imposed by conscience and moves to the existence of god. The moral argument for god s existence dewayne bryant, ph. The moral argument begins with the fact that all people recognize some moral code that some things are right, and some things are wrong.
Something that resembles a moral argument for gods existence, or at least. While aquinas did not explicitly formulate a moral argument for god, he did lay the groundwork for other thinkers to develop his ideas and form them into a solid case for god s existence. Moral arguments for the existence of god stanford encyclopedia of. The argument can be summarised in the following syllogism. Indeed, by acting to make yourself worthy of happiness you would not be worthy of happiness. Lewiss mere christianity 1952, which is almost certainly the bestselling book. However, the one common thread, generally found throughout all formulations, is that there. The moral argument appeals to the existence of moral laws as evidence of god s existence.
Abstract this essay tries to show that there exist several passages where kierkegaard and his pseudonyms sketches an argument for the. Its also a starting point you and i can use when attempting to engage secular people in discussions about ultimate reality. Since moral behavior is not always rewarded in this life, there must be some reason for moral behavior that is beyond this life. Overall, the moral argument stands as a late, but compelling, addition to the body of arguments for the existence of god. Aquinas argument is a platonic argument an argument. They are interesting because evaluating their soundness requires attention. The catholic university of america kants moral argument for the existence of god a thesis submitted to the faculty of the school of philosophy of. It is the aim of this thesis to defend the moral argument from atheist. One way in which the basic argument has been worded is as follows see craig, n. Lewis picks up this kantian insight and formulates an argument for god based on the reality of a.
How do you know if something is morally right or wrong. What is the moral argument for the existence of god. For a while now ive been dissatisfied with william lane craigs moral argument for the existence of god. Thus we have a defensible argument from morality to the existence of a god. The moral argument as we know it was overtly introduced into philosophy of religion by immanuel kant.
The ideas in this course represent a timeless, learned, and sensible tradition that has. How can you have a moral law without an absolute moral lawgiver. Outline the four classic proofs for gods existence. Kants religious argument for the existence of god hkbu. Moral arguments are both important and interesting. Youll get all 28 lessons on dvd mailed to your home along with a hardcopy of the study guide upon completion of the checkout process. If he does exist and the christian bible has it right, our moral behavior must reflect god s intentions for his creation. Ill also hook you up with some freebies as a thank you. The only question is the truth of the two premises.
But its a potential starting point for belief in god, and thats why lewis leads off mere christianity with this argument. You and i agree that if god does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist. The moral argument for the existence of god has been graced with a long tradition of defense from theistic and atheistic. In this work, aquinas lists the quinque viae, or five ways, which are arguments for gods existence. I believe one of the most powerful arguments for the existence of god is the moral argument.
Act in such a way that your action can become a universal law. Kants moral argument for the existence of god peter sjostedth immanuel kant 17241804 the godfather of modern philosophy is generally revered for his three critical books. Lewis argument that the existence of morality points to the existence of his god fails. Check out this page for what is currently being offered and make sure to subscribe to my email list so that you will be the first to know about all kinds of new and cool stuff. The idea is that it takes a purposer to have purpose, and so, where we see things obviously intended for a purpose, we can assume that those things were made for a reason. Arguments for god s existence i one of the classic questions of philosophy and philosophical argument is. The moral argument for the existence of god apologia. The moral argument the existence of god gcse religious.
The moral argument for gods existence dewayne bryant. The moral argument for the existence of god refers to the claim that god is needed to provide a coherent ontological foundation for the existence of objective moral values and duties. Not that all people always act moral, but that there is an innate, overarching sense of right and wrong by which the world and society ought to operate regardless of personal opinions, feelings, desires, etc. The four classical proofs of god s existence attempt to argue from both experience the cosmological, teleological and moral arguments and reason alone the ontological argument, with all of them, but especially the latter being open to critical analysis. Moral arguments for god s existence form a diverse family of arguments that reason from some feature of morality or the moral life to the existence of god, usually understood as a morally good creator of the universe. To view the pdf, you must log in or become a member. Now it was seen to be a duty for us to promote the summum bonum. That it takes the form of a deductive argument god is a necessary postulate. Craigs moral argument for the existence of god apologiapad.
What is the teleological argument for the existence of god. Mackie said that moral properties are queer given naturalism if there are objective values, they make the existence of a god more probable than it would have been without them. How can you ground a belief that says acts such as torturing an innocent child, rape, murder, racism, and other such things are objectively immoral. This is why it is said that, after kant, teleology leads to a moral theology, one that is not about the possibility of proving rationally gods existence but which is. We have discussed the force of the argument and a couple of its better counterarguments.
If god does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist. So the argument is a valid argument for god s existence. Every time we argue over right and wrong, we appeal to a higher law that we assume everyone is aware of, holds to, and is not free to arbitrarily change. Kants moral argument for the existence of god magis center. In the conclusion of his famous critique of practical reason, kant famously said, two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and reverence the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me. This argument can work for god s existence as well as the problem of evil goes against the existence of god. The moral argument for the existence of god the center. The word teleology comes from telos, which means purpose or goal. Lewis and your article reminds me of his moral argument for the existence of god which is as follows. The moral argument for the existence of god is predicated on the existence of morality. The kalam cosmological argument debunked the first cause argument refuted duration. God is conceived as a being than which none greater can be thought, and even the nonbeliever can grasp that idea. Moral arguments for gods existence form a diverse family of arguments.