Gavin Howe
Natural Law Theory and Divine Command Theory are two predominant positions within Christianity that answer the question, Where does objective morality come from?. Natural Law Theory says that human moral values and obligations come from facts about what causes human beings to flourish. In other words, something is good or right when it causes human beings to flourish. On the other hand, Divine Command Theory says that our moral obligations come from God's commands. Right and wrong are determined by what God commands, and God commands according to what is good.
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What You'll Learn
- Natural Law Theory says that human moral values and obligations come from facts about what causes human flourishing
- Divine Command Theory says that moral obligations come from God's commands
- Natural Law presupposes an internal norm intrinsic to natural things
- Divine Command Theory supposes extrinsic norms being applied to all things in the world from without
- Natural Law Theory says that morality is implicit in God's creation of the universe and rational human beings
Natural Law Theory says that human moral values and obligations come from facts about what causes human flourishing
Natural Law Theory and Divine Command Theory are the two predominant positions within Christianity that answer the question, "Where does objective morality come from?". Both theories have their own strengths and weaknesses, which leads to robust debate between proponents of each.
Natural Law Theory (NLT) holds that morality is based on human nature and human flourishing and can be known by natural human reason. It is a value-based theory of morality and practical rationality, where axiological properties like goodness and badness are prior to deontic properties like rightness and wrongness. All practical reasons obtain in virtue of facts about values. The foundation of morality, in this theory, is a set of basic human goods: the fundamental intrinsic values and components of human flourishing that perfect human nature and provide reasons for action. Lists of basic goods usually include items such as life and health, knowledge, work and play, the appreciation of beauty, friendship, and religion.
NLT says that human moral values and obligations come from facts about what causes human flourishing. In other words, something is good or right when it causes human beings to flourish. For example, a Natural Law Theorist might say that in the act of sex, the only natural means of human procreation can be discerned, and that all living things have an innate desire to reproduce. Thus, contraception is shown to be in conflict with the innate aspects of sex and relationships.
Some schools of thought believe that natural law is passed to humans through a divine presence. However, it is important to note that natural law assumes universalizing rules, and does not account for the fact that different people or cultures may view the world differently.
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Divine Command Theory says that moral obligations come from God's commands
The two predominant positions within Christianity that answer the question of "Where does objective morality come from?" are known as Natural Law Theory (NLT) and Divine Command Theory (DCT). Natural Law Theory says that human moral values and obligations come from facts about what causes human beings to flourish. On the other hand, Divine Command Theory says that our moral obligations come from God's commands.
According to DCT, an action is morally wrong if and only if it defies the commands of God. For example, if God has commanded that "thou shall not commit adultery", then it is morally wrong to commit adultery. If God does not exist or has not issued the command, then adultery is morally permissible.
DCT is embraced by some theistic thinkers, who argue that morality is equivalent to, and dependent on, the commands of God. However, DCT has been criticised for being arbitrary, as it implies that whatever God commands must be good. For example, if God commanded someone to inflict suffering, then according to DCT, inflicting suffering must be moral. This also raises the question of whether God is subject to an external law, which challenges the orthodox conception of God as sovereign and omnipotent.
Despite these criticisms, some philosophers have defended DCT. For example, Robert Merrihew Adams proposes a "modified divine command theory", arguing that God's commands precede moral truths and must be explained in terms of moral truths. Adams also argues that God's commands are founded on his omnibenevolence, and that human concepts of right and wrong are met by God's commands.
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Natural Law presupposes an internal norm intrinsic to natural things
Natural Law Theory (NLT) and Divine Command Theory (DCT) are two predominant positions within Christianity that answer the question, "Where does objective morality come from?". Both theories have their strengths and weaknesses, which leads to robust debate between proponents of each.
Natural Law Theory presupposes that there is an internal norm intrinsic to natural things. It holds that human moral values (what is good and bad) and moral obligations (what is right and wrong) come from facts about what causes human beings to flourish. In other words, something is good or right when it causes human beings to flourish. This theory does not deny that God issues commands but takes morality to be implicit in God's creation of the universe and rational human beings. The idea is that the universe is created by God with everything holding a natural purpose. These purposes can be determined by careful study and reason. From knowledge of the proper purposes of objects, one can identify the proper ways to interact with the world and each other.
For example, a Natural Law theorist may believe in the divine command that God created sex for procreation. They observe that all living things have an innate desire to reproduce, and that sexual/procreative relationships between humans (and some other animals) entail indissoluble relationships between the two people (marriage and family life). Thus, the Natural Law Theorist says that contraception is shown to be in conflict with the innate aspects of sex and relationships.
In contrast, Divine Command Theory states that our moral obligations come directly from God's commands. Right and wrong are determined solely by what God commands, and God commands according to what is good. This theory equates moral obligation with the commandments of God: an action is morally obligatory if and only if God has commanded it, and an action is morally prohibited if and only if God has forbidden it. For instance, a divine command theorist might argue that contraception is immoral because God commanded that sex is for procreation, and that direct, artificial, and intentional means of disrupting fertility in sex are sins of lust.
While Natural Law Theory presupposes an internal norm intrinsic to natural things, Divine Command Theory proposes that morality is extrinsic and imposed by God's commands. This distinction is important because it implies that, in Natural Law Theory, the nature of things and their purposes are key to understanding morality, whereas in Divine Command Theory, morality is dependent on God's commands and can change if God changes his mind.
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Divine Command Theory supposes extrinsic norms being applied to all things in the world from without
Divine Command Theory (DCT) and Natural Law Theory (NLT) are two predominant positions within Christianity that answer the question, "Where does objective morality come from?" Both theories have their strengths and weaknesses, which leads to robust debate between proponents of each.
However, DCT has been criticised for its legal positivism, which reduces all moral precepts to God's positive law. This means that the only reason alternatives to God's commands are not morally licit is that God arbitrarily chose so. If God were to change his mind, then an action previously considered immoral, such as murder, could become licit, and protecting innocents could become illicit. This implies that morality is arbitrary and subject to God's will, which challenges the orthodox conception of God as sovereign and omnipotent.
In contrast, Natural Law Theory presupposes that there is an internal norm intrinsic to natural things (admittedly having been placed there by God as something intrinsic and part of the thing's nature). It asserts that something is moral if it works towards the purpose of human existence, and so human nature can determine what is moral. God created the world and human beings with specific natures and natural ends, and thus something is good or right when it causes human beings to flourish. For example, a Natural Law theorist may believe in divine command but also state that we can discern in the act of sex the only natural means of human procreation, and that in humans (and some other animals), sexual/procreative relationships entail indissoluble relationships between the two people (marriage and family life). Therefore, the Natural Law Theorist says that contraception is also shown to be in conflict with the innate aspects of sex and relationships.
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Natural Law Theory says that morality is implicit in God's creation of the universe and rational human beings
Natural Law Theory (NLT) and Divine Command Theory (DCT) are two predominant positions within Christianity that answer the question, "Where does objective morality come from?" Both theories have their own strengths and weaknesses, which leads to robust debate between proponents of each.
On the other hand, Divine Command Theory says that our moral obligations come from God's commands. Right and wrong are determined by what God commands us to do, and God commands us according to what is good. DCT is a metaethical theory that sees moral obligation as equivalent to, and dependent on, the commands of God. It is a relatively simple theory of moral obligation that equates our moral duties to the commandments of God: an action is morally obligatory if and only if God has commanded it, and an action is morally prohibited if and only if God has forbidden it. For example, a divine command theorist thinks that contraception is bad because God commanded that sex is for procreation, and that direct, artificial, and intentional means of disrupting fertility in sex are immoral and a sin of lust.
While some theists embrace DCT, often in a modified form, many theists argue for a different conception of the relationship between God and morality, such as NLT. One criticism of DCT is that it reduces all moral precepts to God's positive law, where the only reason the alternatives to those commands are not morally licit is that God arbitrarily chose them. If God were to change his mind, then, for example, murder could become morally licit, and protecting innocents could become illicit. In contrast, the precepts of NLT are not a matter of arbitrary choice but are based on what is inherently incompatible with the common good.
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Frequently asked questions
Natural Law Theory says that human moral values and obligations come from facts about what causes human beings to flourish. Divine Command Theory, on the other hand, says that our moral obligations come from God's commands.
A Natural Law Theorist may believe that contraception is shown to be in conflict with the innate aspects of sex and relationships. A Divine Command Theorist, however, may think that contraception is bad because God commanded that sex is for procreation, and that direct, artificial, and intentional means of disrupting fertility in sex are immoral.
In Natural Law Theory, something is good or right when it causes human beings to flourish. In Divine Command Theory, an action is good because God commands it. If God does not exist or has not issued a command, then that action is not inherently good or bad.
