This is the third in a series of posts about the Euthyphro dilemma. In this series, I am making a case that the Euthyphro dilemma provides the basis of a definitive objection to DCT. This case will take several posts to present fully. In part 1, I explained what the two options of the dilemma are and showed that these options are mutually exclusive. In part 2, I began to consider the problems that arise for any view that, like… Read more
March 26, 2019
The Euthyphro Dilemma, Part 3: Reasons and Moral Obligations
March 26, 2019 By Jason Thibodeau
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March 22, 2019
41,000 Denominations?
March 22, 2019 By Jeffery Jay Lowder
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Bold Atheism recently tweeted the following meme: #atheist #god #religion #bible #faith #church #atheism #noreligion #religionfree #antireligion #freedomfromreligion #goodwithoutgod #nogod #godless #heathen #nonbeliever #skeptic #secular #humanist #freethinker #think #logic #reason #prayer #sin #atheis… https://t.co/C6MpS2iS9J pic.twitter.com/85cipxGvbH — Bold Atheism (@boldatheism) March 18, 2019 What should we make of this meme? (more…) Read more
March 18, 2019
Do We Need a Finely-Tuned God?
March 18, 2019 By Keith Parsons
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I have recently had a most interesting e-mail exchange with Professor Jason Waller of Kenyon College. His new book Cosmological Fine-Tuning Arguments will be coming out soon from Routledge. While, of course, I do not accept the fine-tuning argument (FTA), I think Prof. Waller’s treatment is, by far, the best defense of it that I have seen to date. Here is the blurb I offered for the book: Jason Waller’s Cosmological Fine-Tuning is exactly what is needed by anyone interested… Read more
March 13, 2019
The Euthyphro Dilemma, Part 2: Arbitrariness
March 13, 2019 By Jason Thibodeau
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In the first post in this series, I pointed out that when we apply the Euthyphro question to DCT, we get the following options (I) The reason that God commands that we perform morally obligatory actions is that they are morally obligatory. (II) Morally obligatory actions are morally obligatory in virtue of the fact that God commands that we perform them. Reflection on these options yields the following two claims: Claim 1: If the reason that God commands that we… Read more
March 13, 2019
The Possible Worlds Argument
March 13, 2019 By Keith Parsons
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This is somewhat more technical than our usual posts here at Secular Outpost. However, we have always thought of SO as a serious site for serious thinkers, and not for the usual invective that pollutes too much of the Internet. So, here is my take on the possible worlds version of the ontological argument. Possible Worlds Version: 1) “God” =df “a perfect being.” Premise: Definition of “God.” 2) If a perfect being exists, then that being exists in every possible… Read more
March 6, 2019
Is It Time to Rename the ‘Problem of Evil’ / ‘Argument from Evil’?
March 6, 2019 By Jeffery Jay Lowder
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I’m starting to wonder if the so-called ‘problem of evil’ / ‘argument from evil’ needs a name change. Consider the following list of known facts about ‘evil’ which have been used as the explanandum for various evidential arguments from evil: biological role of pain and pleasure empathy and apathy (neurological basis of moral handicaps) flourishing and languishing of sentient beings virtue and vice (self-centeredness and limited altruism of human beings) autonomy (having control over one’s destiny) and heteronomy (lacking such… Read more
March 6, 2019
The Euthyphro Dilemma, Part 1: The Question and the Options
March 6, 2019 By Jason Thibodeau
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The Euthyphro dilemma has been used for centuries as a basis for undermining theories that account for moral value in virtue of God’s will, activities, and/or nature, including various versions of Divine Command Theory (DCT)[1]. Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century the arguments directed against DCT that are grounded in this dilemma came in for sustained and penetrating criticism, especially from those philosophers who were attempting to articulate and defend modern versions of DCT. As a result… Read more
March 1, 2019
When Are Appeals to Human Ignorance a Legitimate Defeater of an Evidential Argument?
March 1, 2019 By Jeffery Jay Lowder
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(A1) Evidential arguments from ‘evil’ say: known facts about the types, quantity, and distribution of good and evil are much more probable on naturalism than on theism. (O1) Critics of evidential arguments from evil say: we don’t know that. We have far too limited an understanding of the interconnectedness of things to make such a judgment with confidence. On the assumption that theism is true (and there exists a morally perfect and omniscient being), there could easily be reasons, way… Read more
February 8, 2019
Reply to Dr. Erasmus – Part 4: Further Clarification
February 8, 2019 By Bradley Bowen
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ANALYSIS OF “GOD RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD” (GRJ) God raised Jesus from the dead. (GPM) God has performed at least one miracle (besides creation of the universe and of living things). (JRD) Jesus rose from the dead. (DOC) Jesus died on the cross on the same day he was crucified. (JAW) Jesus was alive and walking around in Jerusalem about 48 hours after he was crucified. (GRJ) É [(GPM) & (JRD)] analytic truth… Read more
January 17, 2019
Reply to Dr. Erasmus – Part 3: Clarification of My Reasoning
January 17, 2019 By Bradley Bowen
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WHERE WE ARE AT In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, I have shown that Dr. Erasmus’ objection to my skeptical reasoning (a) attacks a STRAW MAN, and (b) is based on an INVALID INFERENCE. In doing so, I also argued that Dr. Erasmus does not have a good understanding of probability calculations, especially concerning the use of Bayes’ Theorem. In this post I will further defend my skeptical reasoning about the resurrection of Jesus found in the post… Read more
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