Download or read book Morality Autonomy and God written by Keith Ward and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can morality exist separately from a belief in God? From Descartes to Dostoevsky, the debate concerning the relationship between religion and morality has raged for centuries. Can there be a solid foundation for ethics without God? Or would we be consigned to a relativist morality, where "the good" is just a product of societal values or natural selection? In this landmark work, acclaimed philosopher and theologian, Keith Ward, presents a revolutionary new contribution to this discussion. Reflecting on the work of philosophers old and new - including Hume, Mill, Murdoch and Moore - he argues that our conception of morality intrinsically depends on our model of reality. And if we want a meaningful, objective ethics, then only God can provide the solid metaphysical foundations.Carefully structured and written in Ward's famously clear prose, Morality, Autonomy and God will be an invaluable primer for students of theology or philosophy of religion. But more than that, this strident and controversial book is guaranteed to shape philosophical opinion for years to come.
Download or read book God s Call written by J. E. Hare and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been a debate between modern ethicists who see moral judgments as objectively corresponding to a moral reality independent of human opinion and those who insist that moral judgments are essentially expressions of our will. In this excellent philosophical work John Hare outlines a theory that combines the merits of both views, arguing that what makes something right is that God calls us to it. In the first chapter Hare gives a selective history of the sustained debate within Anglo-American philosophy over the last century between moral realists and moral expressivists. Best understood as a disagreement about how objectivity and subjectivity are related in value judgment, this debate is of particular interest to Christians, who necessarily feel pulled in both directions. Christians want to say that value is created by God and exists whether we recognize it or not, but they also want to say that when we value something, our hearts' fundamental commitments are also involved. Hare suggests "prescriptive realism" as a way to bring both perspectives together. The second chapter examines the divine command theory of John Duns Scotus, looking particularly at the relationship that Scotus established between God's commands, human nature, and human will. Hare shows that a Calvinist version of the divine command theory of obligation can be defended via Scotus against natural law theory as well as against contemporary challenges. A significant theme treated here is the view that the Fall disordered our natural inclinations, rendering them useless as an authoritative source of guidance for right living. In the last chapter Hare moves to the key philosophical juncture between the medieval period and our own time -- the moral theory of Immanuel Kant in the late eighteenth century. Modern moral philosophy has largely taken Kant's work as a refutation of divine command theory and a refocusing of the discussion on human autonomy. Hare shows that Kant was in fact not arguing against the kind of divine command theory that Hare supports. He discusses what Kant meant by saying that we should recognize our duties as God's commands, and he defends a notion of human autonomy as appropriation. Featuring original moral theory and fresh interpretations of the thought of Duns Scotus and Kant, God's Call is valuable both for its overview of the history of moral debate and for its construction of a sound Christian ethic for today.
Download or read book The Emergence of Autonomy in Kant s Moral Philosophy written by Stefano Bacin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thorough study of why Kant developed the concept of autonomy, one of his central legacies for contemporary moral thought.
Download or read book Moral Autonomy and Christian Faith written by Jos Kole and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Flight from Authority written by Jeffrey Stout and published by Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame Press. This book was released on 1981 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jeffrey Stout argues that modern thought was born in a crisis of authority, took shape in flight from authority, and aspired to autonomy from all traditional influence. The quest for autonomy was an attempt to begin completely anew. As such it was bound to fail. Stout traces the secularization of public discourse and its effect on the relation between theism and culture as well as the severance of morality from traditional moorings in favor of autonomy. He is unabashedly historical in his approach, defending the thesis that all thought is historically conditioned and that historical insight is essential to self-understanding. Each section of the book takes up a major problem in contemporary philosophy - the nature of knowledge, the rationality of religious belief, the autonomy of morality- and sets that problem against the background of early modern disputes over authority. The result is simultaneously a critique of ahistorical biases, a survey of major developments in modern thought, and a normative treatment of the problems addressed. The book culminates in the final section with an account of post-Kantian concern with the autonomy of morals. Morality attained relative independence as a form of discourse only in the modern period, but the nature of this independence is distorted when construed in foundationalist or Kantian terms. After criticizing methodological assumptions in recent moral philosophy and religious ethics, Stout sketches his own account of the emergence of autonomy for morality, stressing the need for substantial rethinking of the relationship between religion and ethics. In a concluding chapter, he places his own position in relation to the philosophical tradition descendant from Hegel.
Download or read book Understanding Moral Obligation written by Robert Stern and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-12-15 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many histories of modern ethics, Kant is supposed to have ushered in an anti-realist or constructivist turn by holding that unless we ourselves 'author' or lay down moral norms and values for ourselves, our autonomy as agents will be threatened. In this book, Robert Stern challenges the cogency of this 'argument from autonomy', and claims that Kant never subscribed to it. Rather, it is not value realism but the apparent obligatoriness of morality that really poses a challenge to our autonomy: how can this be accounted for without taking away our freedom? The debate the book focuses on therefore concerns whether this obligatoriness should be located in ourselves (Kant), in others (Hegel) or in God (Kierkegaard). Stern traces the historical dialectic that drove the development of these respective theories, and clearly and sympathetically considers their merits and disadvantages; he concludes by arguing that the choice between them remains open.
Download or read book Religion and Morality written by Daniel Statman and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-06-08 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion and Morality seeks to answer two fundamental questions regarding the relation between religion and morality. The first is the puzzle posed by Socrates, the so-called 'Euthyphro dilemma', which asks: is morality valuable by virtue of its intrinsic importance and worth, or is morality valuable because, and only because, God approves it and commands us to follow its dictates? The second question is raised by Kierkegaard in Fear and Trembling. He asks: Is a conflict between religion and morality possible? Does God ever demand that we neglect our moral commitments? The discussion on these questions is divided into three parts. In the first two parts, we discuss the idea that morality depends on religion. The authors distinguish two types of dependence: strong dependence, according to which the very existence, or validity, of moral obligations depends on God's command, and weak dependence, according to which though morality itself is independent of God, God (or belief in God) is necessary to enable human beings to know their moral duties and to carry them out. The authors reject the strong dependence thesis, as well as most versions of the weak dependence. The third part of the book discusses different versions of the view that religion might conflict with morality. The authors reject this view, and show that very few religious thinkers would follow it all the way through to its ultimate consequences. The book has implications for the philosophy of religion, in its emphasis on the centrality of the moral element in religion, and for moral philosophy, in its highlighting, among other things, of the nature of moral judgments.
Download or read book Ethics and the Autonomy of Philosophy written by Bernard James Walker and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-11-06 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ethics and the Autonomy of Philosophy, Bernard Walker sets out with two objectives. First, Walker argues that ethics is autonomous as a discipline. Oftentimes ethics books, from a Christian perspective, lean toward grounding ethics in theology or in biblical proof texting. Walker departs from this tradition. Ethics grounded in theology entails a limited scope for those doing ethics in that the Christian God must be assumed for both Christian and non-Christian when at the table of ethical dialogue. For the non-Christian, this loads the dice and shuts down ethical consensus and dialogue, if not ethical truth. With that said, this book does not depart from Christian ethical views on such issues as the sanctity of life, antiracism, the death penalty, the objectivity of ethics, and the importance of integrating faith into ethics; however, Walker does so from a common denominator of philosophy rather than theology. Second, Walker ventures into the streets and engages the man/woman on the streets approach to ethics and ethical decision-making. He points out the shortcomings of the ubiquitous views of the man/woman on the streets, viz., cultural relativism, skepticism, and the attitude that ethics is merely a matter of personal choice.
Download or read book God and Moral Obligation written by C. Stephen Evans and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-02-28 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: C. Stephen Evans defends the claim that moral obligations are best understood as divine commands or requirements; hence an important part of morality depends on God. God's requirements are communicated in a variety of ways, including conscience, and that natural law ethics and virtue ethics provide complementary perspectives to this view.
Download or read book The Good and the Good Book written by Samuel Fleischacker and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religions that center around a revelation--or a 'good book', which is seen as God's word--are widely regarded as irrational and dangerous, based on outdated science and conducive to illiberal, inhumane moral attitudes. Samuel Fleischacker offers a powerful defense of revealed religion, and reconciles it with science and liberal morality.
Download or read book Is Goodness Without God Good Enough written by Robert K. Garcia and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2009 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Morality and religion: intimately wed, violently opposed, or something else? Discussion of this issue appears in pop culture, the academy, and the media - often generating radically opposed views. At one end of the spectrum are those who think that unless God exists, ethics is unfounded and the moral life is unmotivated. At the other end are those who think that religious belief is unnecessary for - and even a threat to - ethical knowledge and the moral life." "This volume provides an accessible, charitable discussion that represents a range of views along this spectrum. The book begins with a lively debate between Paul Kurtz and William Lane Craig on the question, Is goodness without God good enough? Kurtz defends the affirmative position and Craig the negative. Following the debate are new essays by prominent scholars. These essays comment on the debate and advance the broader discussion of religion and morality. The book closes with final responses from Kurtz and Craig."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Spinoza on Human Freedom written by Matthew J. Kisner and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-02-10 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spinoza was one of the most influential figures of the Enlightenment, but his often obscure metaphysics makes it difficult to understand the ultimate message of his philosophy. Although he regarded freedom as the fundamental goal of his ethics and politics, his theory of freedom has not received sustained, comprehensive treatment. Spinoza holds that we attain freedom by governing ourselves according to practical principles, which express many of our deepest moral commitments. Matthew J. Kisner focuses on this theory and presents an alternative picture of the ethical project driving Spinoza's philosophical system. His study of the neglected practical philosophy provides an accessible and concrete picture of what it means to live as Spinoza's ethics envisioned.
Download or read book A Moral Ontology for a Theistic Ethic written by Frank G. Kirkpatrick and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title was first published in 2003. This book develops a moral ontology for a theistic ethic that engages the work of contemporary moral and political philosophers, and reaffirms the relevance of a theistic tradition of God's relation to the world reflected in the fundamental teachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Drawing on recent thought in the non-religious fields of psychology and political and moral philosophy, which build around the concept of human flourishing in community, Kirkpatrick argues that a theistic ethic need not be the captive of parochial or sectarian theological camps. He proposes a common or universal ethic that transcends the fashionable ethnocentric 'incommensurate differences' in morality alleged by many post-modern deconstructionists. In the wake of ethnic religious strife post September 11th 2001, this book argues for a common morality built on the inclusivity of love, community, and justice that can transcend sectarian and parochial boundaries.
Download or read book Godless Morality written by Richard Holloway and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 2000-05-04 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of God in any moral debate is so problematic as to be almost worthless. We can argue whether this or that alleged claim emanated from God, but surely it is better to leave God out of the argument altogether and find strong human reasons for supporting the systems that we advocate. Godless Morality is a refreshing, courageous and human-centred justification for contemporary morality.
Download or read book Religion without God written by Ronald Dworkin and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 71 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his last book, Ronald Dworkin addresses questions that men and women have asked through the ages: What is religion and what is God’s place in it? What is death and what is immortality? Based on the 2011 Einstein Lectures, Religion without God is inspired by remarks Einstein made that if religion consists of awe toward mysteries which “manifest themselves in the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, and which our dull faculties can comprehend only in the most primitive forms,” then, he, Einstein, was a religious person. Dworkin joins Einstein’s sense of cosmic mystery and beauty to the claim that value is objective, independent of mind, and immanent in the world. He rejects the metaphysics of naturalism—that nothing is real except what can be studied by the natural sciences. Belief in God is one manifestation of this deeper worldview, but not the only one. The conviction that God underwrites value presupposes a prior commitment to the independent reality of that value—a commitment that is available to nonbelievers as well. So theists share a commitment with some atheists that is more fundamental than what divides them. Freedom of religion should flow not from a respect for belief in God but from the right to ethical independence. Dworkin hoped that this short book would contribute to rational conversation and the softening of religious fear and hatred. Religion without God is the work of a humanist who recognized both the possibilities and limitations of humanity.
Download or read book A Law Unto Themselves written by Wesley Lyons Erdelack and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study inquires into the interrelation of philosophical and religious matters in modern European moral thought, examining the work of Ralph Cudworth, Shaftesbury, Immanuel Kant, and GWF Hegel. Its primary conclusion is that the the ideal of moral autonomy, or moral self-government, is best understood as an "internalization" of an originally political model of sovereignty. The idea of moral self-government, as articulated by these thinkers, represents transposition of political relations among rulers and subjects within the moral subject, recasting them as relationships among parts of the soul--reason, will, and desire. Further, it argues that specifically religious concerns, including the character of moral relationships between humans and God and the fallenness of human nature, played a central role in the development of autonomy as a moral ideal. This study maintains that the distinctive ideal of moral-self-government in modern moral philosophy can be understood as a response to the conflicting commitments to free will and divine sovereignty within the Christian tradition. On this account, the distinctive commitments of secular ethics--an emphasis on self-determination, freedom of conscience, and individual liberty of choice--emerge from an attempt to reconcile reason with religion.
Download or read book Kant on Moral Autonomy written by Oliver Sensen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the central importance Kant's concept of autonomy for contemporary moral thought and modern philosophy.
