Counterpossibles and the ‘Terrible’ Divine Command Deity
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Issue Date
2015
Authors
Davis, Richard Brian, 1963-
Franks, W. Paul
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Artist
Creator
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Type
Article
Keywords
Morriston, Wes
Divine command theory
Morality
Sacrificial scenario
Divine command theory
Morality
Sacrificial scenario
Citation
Davis, Richard Brian and W. Paul Franks. “Counterpossibles and the ‘Terrible’ Divine Command Deity.” Religious Studies 51, no. 1 (2015): 1-19
Abstract
In a series of articles in this journal, Wes Morriston has launched what can only be considered a full-scale assault on the divine command theory (DCT) of morality. According to Morriston, proponents of this theory are committed to an alarming counterpossible: that if God did command an annual human sacrifice, it would be morally obligatory. Since only a ‘terrible’ deity would do such a ‘terrible’ thing, we should reject DCT. Indeed, if there were such a deity, the world would be a terrible place - certainly far worse than it is. We argue that Morriston’s nonstandard method for assessing counterpossibles of this sort is flawed. Not only is the savvy DCT-ist at liberty to reject it, but Morriston’s method badly misfires in the face of theistic activism - a metaphysical platform available to DCT-ists, according to which if God didn’t exist, neither would anything else.
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Cambridge University Press
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/