Atheism, Morality, and Divine Nature Theories vs. Ideal Observer Theories
This another item I found while organizing material on my hard drive. I think I am the author, but I am not certain of that. What is the advantage of divine nature theories over ideal observer theories? Consider, for example, a divine nature theory of moral value. On such a view, God’s nature, not God, … Atheism, Morality, and Divine Nature Theories vs. Ideal Observer Theories
J.L. Mackie’s Argument from Queerness against Objective Values
In his highly significant book, Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong, the late Oxford philosopher J.L. Mackie rejected moral objectivism and instead defended an error theory.[1] Although Mackie admitted that ordinary moral language and first-level moral beliefs imply moral objectivism, he argued on empirical grounds that moral objectivism is false. Mackie called one of his anti-objectivist arguments … J.L. Mackie’s Argument from Queerness against Objective Values
Morality Cannot Have a Foundation in God: A Summary for the General Reader by Quentin Smith
The following essay was written by Quentin Smith around 2001 or 2002, but inexplicably fell through the cracks. While organizing files on my computer, I recently rediscovered it and am happy to be able to share it with our readers. I am posting it here, without taking a position pro or con, for interested readers. Feel … Morality Cannot Have a Foundation in God: A Summary for the General Reader by Quentin Smith
Index: Atheist Error Theorists
Many atheists have claimed that atheism entails that moral realism is false; many theistic apologists gleefully quote those atheists. But how do those atheists support their claim? This page provides an index to other Secular Outpost posts which discuss specific atheists’ arguments for the claim that atheism somehow supports moral nihilism or error theory. Related posts:
Michael Ruse’s Argument against Moral Realism and for Error Theory
Michael Ruse is a philosopher of biology and an atheist who is well-known for his writings about evolution. In various writings, Ruse has argued against moral realism by appealing to (Darwinian) evolution. Instead, he argues, the scientific facts about evolution justify the conclusion that moral error theory is correct. In this post, I want to assess … Michael Ruse’s Argument against Moral Realism and for Error Theory
Does Evolution “Explain” Objective Morality? A Reply to Jerry Coyne
Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne recently wrote about Leah Libresco’s conversion from atheism to Catholicism based on a moral argument for God’s existence. In his article, Coyne promotes the idea, which he has done many times before, that biological evolution somehow “explains” objective morality. While there is a sense in which Coyne is correct, that has … Does Evolution “Explain” Objective Morality? A Reply to Jerry Coyne
Amoral Atheism Part 2
Physics cannot justify why anything is morally right or wrong. No one says that is a defect of physics because that’s not what physics is about. Like physics, atheism is also not about morality. So why should it be a defect of atheism that it cannot justify why anything is morally right or wrong?
An F-Inductive Moral Argument for Theism
Here is an F-inductive argument for theism based on ontologically objective moral values. Note that this argument assumes that such things exist. If you don’t think they exist, then you may want to skip reading this post. As usual, let B be our background information; E be the evidence to be explained (in this case, the existence of … An F-Inductive Moral Argument for Theism
Stan on Materialism and Morality
A reader named Stan recently posted many comments on another page on this blog about materialism and morality. I’m going to copy and paste several of his comments together to provide a convenient summary of his argument. Stan’s Definitions Here is a summary of Stan’s definitions. Materialism: functional materialism is the set of constraints on … Stan on Materialism and Morality
Amoral Atheism
Atheism is neither moral nor immoral; rather, it is amoral. By itself, atheism does not make it obligatory, permitted, or forbidden to do anything. It’s not an ethical theory.