Deck 5: God and Morality Steven M.Cahn

Question 1

Cahn suggests that some might be made to feel insecure by the knowledge that the world had been planned by an all-good being because they would

A) realize the extent to which their existence depended on the will of that being.
B) realize that it is immoral to eradicate germs, disease-bearing rats, and other natural sources of illness.
C) fear damnation.
D) All of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Cahn denies that one can base the wrongness of murder on God's existence because

A) perhaps God gave us the potential to murder because murder is right.
B) some things potentially created by God, such as vermin and disease, are not wrong to kill.
C) death is part of life, so perhaps God's gift of life implies a duty to kill.
D) All of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Cahn asserts that the moral prescriptions in holy books

A) converge.
B) conflict.
C) reveal the will of God.
D) do not reveal the will of God.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Cahn notes that, if the good is whatever God commands, to say that God's commands are good amounts to saying

A) God's commands are God's commands.
B) God's commands are reasonable.
C) God's commands reflect what is best for us.
D) None of the above

Question 5

Cahn argues that morality

A) depends on belief in God.
B) is incompatible with belief in God.
C) is independent of belief in God.
D) is based in illusion.

Question 6

On Cahn's view, if God exists and something is wrong because that being says so,

A) one is morally obligated to avoid doing it.
B) one should explore alternatives anyway.
C) there is no way to determine whether it is really wrong, after all.
D) anything, however apparently wrong, would be right by definition.

Question 7

Cahn argues that proving God's existence would prove the wrongness of harming God's creation.

Question 8

Cahn describes the essence of his position as "might does not make right."

Question 9

To say that good is whatever God commands, Cahn argues, is to lose the possibility of meaningfully praising God's goodness.

Question 10

According to Cahn, those who do not believe in the existence of God can be highly moral.

Question 11

Euthyphro's dilemma runs as follows: Is an action wrong because God says so, or does God say so because it is wrong?

Question 12

According to Cahn, God's existence can serve as the foundation for moral philosophy, at least for those who believe in such a being.

Question 13

Is it possible to be moral without believing in God? Why or why not?

Question 14

Cahn argues that God's existence would not matter morally. How does he defend this assertion? Do you find his argument compelling? Why or why not?

Question 15

What is the dilemma that Socrates raises in the Euthyphro? Do you think this dilemma poses a damning problem for the divine command theorist? Explain your answer.