Divine Command Theory

Question	Answer
When is an action considered moral?	An action is considered moral when it has been commanded by God
Who are the two philosophers related too the original Divine Command Theory?	Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) St Augustine (354-430)
Who modified and updated DCT?	Robert Adams
What was Robert Adams contribution to DCT?	He said that "It is always wrong to do X" is equivalent to "It is contrary to Gods command to do X"
What is the Euthyphro Dilemma?	A dialogue between Socrates and Euthyphro created by Plato that asks: 1) Is it good to do something because God ordained it? 2) Or did God ordain it because it is good?
What did Peter Singer say in his objections?	He said that "If God happened to approve torture and disapproved of helping others, torture would be good and helping others bad"
How does DCT fit into Natural Law?	It fits into the Divine law section of Natural Law, as we learn what God wants through the bible.
What is a strength of DCT?	Absolutist as the commands are given and can't be changed
What are three weaknesses of DCT?	As society has progressed, the Bible hasn't If there is no standard of moral behaviour independent of God, how can we judge his actions? Because of Epistemic Distance we can never know what his commands are

Resource summary

	Created by Alexa Smith about 9 years ago