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Single Idea 8010

[filed under theme 28. God / A. Divine Nature / 6. Divine Morality / d. God decrees morality ]

Full Idea

The most notable philosopher who makes God's commandment the basis of goodness, rather than God's goodness a reason for obeying him, is William of Occam.

Gist of Idea

William of Ockham is the main spokesman for God's commands being the source of morality

Source

William of Ockham (works [1335]), quoted by Alasdair MacIntyre - A Short History of Ethics Ch.9

Book Ref

MacIntyre,Alasdair: 'A Short History of Ethics' [Routledge 1967], p.119

A Reaction

Either view has problems. Why choose God to obey? Obey anyone who is powerful? But how do you decide that God is good? How do we know the nature of God's commands, or the nature of God's goodness? Etc.

The 16 ideas with the same theme [God as the authority behind morality]:

8004 In 'The Laws', to obey the law is to be obey god [Plato, by MacIntyre]
3042 Stoics teach that law is identical with right reason, which is the will of Zeus [Chrysippus, by Diog. Laertius]
5965 The source of all justice is Zeus and the universal nature [Chrysippus]
2651 God doesn't obey the laws of nature; they are subject to the law of God [Cicero]
8010 William of Ockham is the main spokesman for God's commands being the source of morality [William of Ockham]
3637 Ideas in God's mind only have value if he makes it so [Descartes]
6223 If the will and pleasure of God controls justice, then anything wicked or unjust would become good if God commanded it [Cudworth]
6226 The requirement that God must be obeyed must precede any authority of God's commands [Cudworth]
12570 The finite and dependent should obey the supreme and infinite [Locke]
6249 If goodness is constituted by God's will, it is a tautology to say God's will is good [Hutcheson]
7577 Abraham was willing to suspend ethics, for a higher idea [Kierkegaard]
7162 Morality can only be upheld by belief in God and a 'hereafter' [Nietzsche]
4502 Morality cannot survive when the God who sanctions it is missing [Nietzsche]
3845 Without God there is no intelligibility or value [Sartre]
4009 Nominalists defended the sovereignty of God against the idea of natural existing good and evil [Taylor,C]
20703 How could God have obligations? What law could possibly impose them? [Davies,B]