Ethics
Tuesday, 2/4/03
Calvinism & The Euthyphro Dilemma

Calvinism ='s Psych. Egoism + Divine Command Theory.
Rejects: "Ought implies can"
Psych. Egoism + Ought implis can ='s Ethical Egoism.

The Euthyphro Dilemma: Does God command things because they're right or are things right simply because God commands them? If the first, then God has reasons for his commands. If so, those reasons will comprise morality, not the fact that God issues commands based on them.
e.g. suppose God commands against premarital sex
Viewpoints: Human Welfare, disease, unwanted pregnancies & abortions, Psych. Fullfillment fidelity.
Other viewpoints: Leads to unhappiness (utilitarism), Leads to bad consequences (Consequentualism), Depersonalizes (deontology)

If the second, God's commands seem arbitrary, (Like a parent saying "Because I said so") There'd be no constraints on the kinds of things he could command. What if God commanded torturing babies for fun? God would never command this because God is Good.
-Kind,loving,just...
-whatever nature God has
God is Good ='s God is Good.

Hobbes: Life in a "state of nature" - (w/o Gov. Laws) nasty, brutish and short. Wary of every man vs. every man. Avoid by government laws, enforcement, Monarch-strong central gov. moral=legal-social contract theory-Implicit agreement.
Unjust laws-No such thing. Pragmatic-Useful.