Philosophical Essay

Submitted to: AMU

Course: Philosophy

Date: 28 July 2019

Philosophical Essay Outline

Thesis Statement: “All the good actions have been developed and taught to us by God and the whole morality that comes to us belongs to God. Hence, Divine Command teaches us morality through good actions.”

Rough draft of the introduction to an essay

In this essay, I will analyze the statement "Are morally good acts willed by God because they are morally good, or are they morally good because they are willed by God?". This statement describes the epistemological problem and is related to the Divine Command Theory of morality because this theory defines the status of action on moral grounds. The philosophical implications attached to each option revolve around the wills of God and the good acts. I will analyze the statement in the light of the Divine Command Theory of morality that will help to explain all questions.

I. All moral obligations have a close connection to the Divine Command.

A. Virtue is always seen in God and the creature made by him.

B. Ethics are embedded in the creature and people can differentiate what is right and what is wrong (Evans)

C. Divine command theory is criticized by so many and this is taken as an epistemological objection.

II. few major critics think that divine theories do not indicate moral status because these critiques lack knowledge of the commands sent by God.

A. There are a risk and variety in the understanding of the commands of God.

B. The factors of uncertainty are high while interpreting the commands of God (Danaher).

C. To understand the commands of God, critical thinking is recommended.

III. The questions asked by the Socrates are highly intellectual and they are used to arouse critical thinking in human beings.

A. Socratic style is not always of a learner. He askes questions to teach others and his questions are aimed at highlighting the needs to think critically.

B. Socrates used exploratory, focused and spontaneous question and this learning highlights the needs to think on different patterns according to the nature of the thoughts (Richard Paul).

C. Religious thoughts require the more careful attention of the people and refined thinking is needed to understand the meanings of the divine commands and wills of God.

IV. Conclusion:

A. Summary of discussion:

The thoughts about the divine commands are often confused because people do not have much knowledge about the commands given by God and the wills of God. This is seen in the form of objection which is done by most of the people who do not have complete knowledge about religion. This can be developed among them through critical thinking and by asking a question which will give rise to balanced and righteous approaches.

B. Final Observation:

1

All the good acts which are based on morality come from the wills of God because God likes morality and he has also nurtured his creatures with the moral obligation and has kept in them a sense to differentiate between the right and the wrong.

Works Cited Danaher, John. "In Defence of the Epistemological Objection to Divine Command Theory." Sophia (2017): 1-20. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11841-017-0622-9. Evans, Stephen. "Divine Commands as the Basis for Moral Obligations." The Future of Creation Order (2019): 115-133. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92147-1_7. Richard Paul, Linda Elder. The Thinker's Guide to Socratic Questioning. California: Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2017. https://books.google.com.pk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ADWbDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA2&dq=+Socrates+asks+Euthyphro&ots=1iJWxRuO1g&sig=6Zs-w1RPuUQRZkfNdoJe0DcRg38#v=onepage&q&f=false.