3. Ethics by Authority

 

Euthyphro and Abraham

From a religious perspective, is an action moral because God says it is moral or is it moral because of some set of rules that even God must follow. Socrates asked Euthyphro this question as Euthyphro was about to put his father on trial for breaking some law and defying some deity. There is a biblical parallel with Abraham, who was ordered by God to sacrifice his son. The central question is, as Jay-Z said, "Is pious pious because God loves pious?"

 

(1.)  Socrates asks Euthyphro whether he is killing his father because it is the right thing to do or because a deity told him to do it? 

(2.)  If there is a moral code that God must follow, then God can't be all-powerful, but 

(3.) If God makes the rules, then not only could this be a form of Egoism, but following God's rules could be the fallacy of unqualified authority. Remember that 

(4.) Euthyphro and Abraham were compelled by divine command to kill loved ones. Could you do the same? 

(5.) You could accept the argument that ‘even God must follow a code’ if you don’t like the alternative.

 

1.     Socrates asks Euthyphro whether he is killing his father because it is the right thing to do or because a deity told him to do it?

In Plato's Euthyphro, Socrates runs into Euthyphro, who tells him he is about to put his father to death for breaking some divine command. Socrates is a bit disturbed at this and asks the fratricidal fanatic Euthyphro if he is killing his father because it is the right thing to do or if it is because a deity said so.

2. If there is a moral code that God must follow, then he can't be all-powerful

If it is the right thing to do because there is some moral code that even a god must follow, then this means that deity is not all-powerful because they are subject to some moral code. And thus, they a limited in what they can do. If we apply this to the Abrahamic religions, then we'd have to argue that God is subject to some moral code, and he is not all-powerful. This would be problematic for some.

3. If God makes the rules, then not only could this be a form of Egoism, but following God's rules could be the fallacy of unqualified authority

If an action is moral because a god said so, then there is no absolute morality, and we essentially have a version of Egoism. A person determines what is right and wrong based on their desire. If we look at the God of the Old Testament compared to the God of the New Testament, we arguably have two different characters. In the beginning, there is a cruel warring god, and in the New Testament, we have a loving, forgiving God. If God is perfect, then why is his behavior inconsistent? Following God could be viewed as committing the fallacy of unqualified authority. God's inconsistency may disqualify him from giving advice. He can still tell you if you are doing wrong, but this becomes problematic when he says killing is wrong one day but then orders the Israelites to massacre a village another day. God may tell Abraham, "Thou shall not kill!" but years later, he'll tell Joshua, "After you capture the city of Ai, kill everything!"

4. Euthyphro and Abraham were compelled by divine command to kill loved ones. Could you do the same?

There is a parallel between Euthyphro's situation in the bible with Abraham. According to religious law, Euthyphro had to put his father to death, and according to God's command, Abraham had to put Isaac, or Ismael, to death. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son. Basically, he asked him to kill his son. Abraham's faith was so strong that he went and did it. Imagine if God came to you and asked you to kill your child. Would you do it? Someone might say, "God would never ask me to do that!" My response to that would be that you can't possibly know what God wants from you. Look at Abraham. God promised him a nation, and he gave him one, but Abraham was still willing to kill his son and, with that, the only possibility of a nation. Today we know that God wasn't going to let it happen, but Abraham didn't know it at the time? Put yourself in Abraham's shoes. Imagine what it would be like for God to tell you to kill your child?

5. You could accept the argument that even God must follow a code if you don’t like the alternative

If you don't like this scenario, then consider this the argument about a code that even God is subject to. If such a code exists, then even God must follow it, and if that code consists of rules that prevent God from asking people to sacrifice children, then you can comfortably say that God would never ask that. But if God makes that rules, God can change them, and as the Bible shows, God can change morality on a whim.

Conclusion

Euthyphro and Abraham had difficult decisions to make. They decided that a deity makes the moral rules they follow and that deity is not subject to a moral code. If we accept this line of reasoning, then, if you are a theist, you must accept the reality that your deity can ask you to do anything. Or you can believe that even your deity must follow some morality.