This essay introduces the Divine Command Theory of ethics, that wrong actions are wrong because God forbids them and right actions are right because God commands them, and the most important responses to it, which date back to Socrates’ discussion in ancient Greece with a man named Euthyphro.
Tag: Nobis
Atheism: Believing God Does Not Exist
This essay introduces some of the core philosophical issues about atheism: what it is, how and why people accept atheism, and the relationships between atheism and meaning in life and ethics.
Philosophical Counseling: Using Philosophy to Address Life’s Challenges
This essay describes a leading approach to philosophical counseling, known as Logic-Based Therapy, that has been developed and used since the 1980s.
“That’s Subjective”: Subjectivism about Truth, Beauty, and Goodness
People sometimes say that judgments about what’s true, what’s ethical, what others find beautiful or aesthetically pleasing, and more are "subjective." What does “subjective” really mean? Are judgments like these truly “subjective”? This essay introduces different answers to these questions.
Cultural Relativism: Do Cultural Norms Make Actions Right and Wrong?
An introduction to the ethical theory cultural relativism or ethical relativism or relativism: do cultural norms make actions right and wrong?
Ethical Egoism: The Morality of Selfishness
The ethical theory known as ethical egoism states that we are always morally required to do what’s in our own self-interest: the view is sometimes called an “ethics of selfishness.” This essay introduces ethical egoism. This essay explores ethical egoism and the main arguments for and against it.
Euthanasia, or Mercy Killing
There are people in very bad medical conditions who want to die. Can it be morally permissible to let them die? Advocates of “passive euthanasia” argue that it can be. Their reasons, however, suggest that it can sometimes be not wrong to actively kill some patients, i.e., that “active euthanasia” can be permissible also. This essay reviews these arguments.
Responding to Morally Flawed Historical Philosophers and Philosophies
How should we respond to brilliant-but-flawed philosophers from the past? Here we explore the issues, asking questions and offering few answers. Any insights gained here might be applicable to contemporary imperfect philosophers, scholars in other fields, and people in general.
Ethics and “Extra Credit”
A variety of extra credit opportunities are often given as a way to raise grades on assignments and tests and overall course grades. But there are reasons why instructors should not offer extra credit, that doing so is unjustified and unfair. Extra credit is common but is surprisingly controversial.
The Ethics of Abortion
Abortion involves the intentional killing of a being that is biologically human. Killing "human beings" is often deeply wrong, so is abortion wrong? If so, when? And why?