Deck 28: Religion and Ethics

Question 1

Throughout history, all moral traditions have based ethics on religion.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The divine command theory claims that "moral rightness"means "willed by God."

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The viewpoint that opposes the divine command theory is the autonomy thesis.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

It is impossible to believe in God and embrace the autonomy thesis.

Question 5

According to the autonomy thesis, God's will cannot change what is intrinsically evil into a morally good act.

Question 6

Critics charge that the divine command theory makes morality arbitrary.

Question 7

Immanuel Kant claimed that the principles of religious ethics and philosophical ethics contradict one another.

Question 8

One of George Mavrodes's criticisms of secular ethics is that it lacks a metaphysical basis.

Question 9

According to Bertrand Russell and Kai Nielsen, morality has no need of God.

Question 10

The author of the text agrees with James Rachels that it is always wrong to give up one's autonomy when deciding what to do.

Question 11

The topic that Socrates addresses in the Euthyphro is

A) Does morality depend on religion?
B) Can we know if the gods exist?
C) What is the point of being moral?
D) Does God punish us when we do wrong?

Question 12

Which of the following statements is an expression of the divine command theory?

A) God commands what is good because it is good.
B) Good actions are good because God commands them.
C) God is good because his commands are consistent with rational standards of goodness.
D) God's commands are consistent with rational standards of goodness because God is good.

Question 13

One of the claims of the autonomy thesis is that

A) there is no God.
B) if we do not have autonomous, free will, ethics is meaningless.
C) rightness and wrongness are not based simply on God's will.
D) God's autonomy is the basis of his moral commands.

Question 14

From the standpoint of theism, the divine command theory is attractive because

A) it makes it easier to do what is right.
B) it does justice to the sovereignty of God.
C) there is an objective, independent standard of right and wrong that both we and God follow.
D) it preserves the autonomy of ethics.

Question 15

A criticism made against the divine command theory in the text is that

A) God's commands are too hard to obey.
B) different religions have different divine commands.
C) God's commands are not always consistent.
D) it reduces to the trivial statement "God commands what God commands."

Question 16

According to William of Occam's divine command theory

A) God commands only those actions that conform to the objective standards of goodness.
B) we can know what is morally good apart from God commands.
C) God could have commanded theft and adultery if he had wanted to.
D) "moral rightness" means the same as "what God wills" only in some cases.

Question 17

According to Immanuel Kant the relationship between valid religious ethics and valid philosophical ethics is that

A) there is no difference between them.
B) religious ethics concerns our duties to God and philosophical ethics concerns our duties to other persons.
C) they are in conflict with one another.
D) philosophical ethics is based on religious ethics.

Question 18

Kant says we must postulate immortality because

A) it is a belief shared by millions of people in every culture throughout the centuries.
B) otherwise, there would be no motive for being virtuous.
C) the human soul is immaterial and, hence, indestructible.
D) we need an eternal afterlife to enable us to pursue moral perfection.

Question 19

Kant claims that the relationship between moral virtue, happiness, and the afterlife is

A) the goal of happiness in the afterlife is the only reasonable motive for being virtuous.
B) justice demands that there be a God to reward moral virtue with happiness in the afterlife.
C) moral virtue inevitably brings happiness in this life and enables us to attain the afterlife.
D) moral virtue is unrelated to both happiness and the afterlife.

Question 20

A criticism George Mavrodes makes of Bertrand Russell's atheism is that

A) secular morality cannot explain why we should make sacrifices for the sake of moral duty.
B) Russell cannot explain who made the world.
C) it is impossible for an atheist to do what is morally right.
D) there could be no meaning to the phrase "morally good" if there were no divine commands.

Question 21

Patrick Nowell-Smith rejects religious morality because

A) it is hard to discern God's will.
B) it merely duplicates what we could discover through reason alone.
C) its emphasis on rules makes it an infantile morality.
D) it commands us to be morally perfect, which is an unattainable goal.

Question 22

James Rachels's view of moral autonomy is that

A) the notion is a relic of Kantian philosophy and should be abandoned.
B) it is a guiding ideal, but impossible to attain.
C) it is based in sinful human pride and, hence, is contrary to any valid ethics.
D) it is a reason why religious morality should be rejected.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a reason a theist would give for why religion enhances the moral life according to your text's author?

A) Without religion no ethics is possible.
B) Religion assures us that good will win out over evil.
C) It gives us an added incentive to be moral.
D) God's love inspires people to profound altruism.

Question 24

Consider the following question: Does God command good actions because they are good or are good actions good because God commands them? How would a follower of the divine command theory answer? Why? How would a follower of the autonomy thesis answer? Why?

Question 25

Is it possible for a religious believer to embrace the autonomy thesis? Why or why not?

Question 26

If one believes in God, what features of the divine command theory would make it attractive? What are some problems with the divine command theory?

Question 27

What was William of Occam's view of the relationship between right and wrong on the one hand and God's commands on the other? How might his view be criticized?

Question 28

What was Kant's view of the relationship between religious and philosophical ethics? What were his reasons for this position?

Question 29

Why does Kant say that God and immortality are necessary postulates of ethics?

Question 30

What was Bertrand Russell's view concerning the thesis that morality depends upon religion? How does George Mavrodes criticize Russell?

Question 31

Set out either Patrick Nowell-Smith's or James Rachels's view of the relationship between religion and ethics. To what degree and in what ways is the position plausible? How might itbe criticized? In the final analysis, do you agree or disagree with the position? Why?