Welcome back philosophers, this week we’ll be continuing our examination of The One With Many Names. The characteristic in question is omnipotence and how this relates to the paradigm of good and evil.
Moral ethics is greatly concerned with the moral implications of our actions and whether an action is intrinsically good or bad (in itself). Many arguments follow and many variables are considered for example dharma which is the question of duty. This is the arena where moral dilemnas are mulled over by philosophers and heated debates ensue.
Kantian ethics’ use of the categorical imperative implies the universality of a good moral action and a bad moral action, that is to say if an action is to be permissible – if applied to everyone there would be no contradiction. Immanuel Kant was also interested in the idea of duty and coined the terms perfect and imperfect duty. An example of a perfect duty is the duty to not lie (always tell the truth) and if it was applied to everyone there would be no contradiction. Queue a plethora of topical subjects where the principle of universality would cause our world to quickly enter a dystopia:
- Euthanasia
- Stealing ( out of need or greed)
- Murder ( capital punishment and honour killings)
Enter moral dilemma No1…
Hostage situation
30 people are being held in a room, meanwhile another 10 surgeons are hiding in another room. The captor is aware there are others hidden somewhere in the building and picks an individual and asks him where the others are hidden. The captor is wielding a weapon and threatens to kill everyone in the room if Man A doesnt tell the location of the 10 surgeons.
What should Man A do ?
***
Okay so let’s get our thoughts together:
- Should implies a matter of duty
- Assuming Man A knows where they are hiding, according to Kantian ethics he should perform his perfect duty and always tell the truth
- Therefore he should tell the truth and the 10 surgeons will die
Utilitarianism – “the greatest good for the greatest number”. This ethical paradigm would also err on the side of Man A telling the truth as it would save the 30 compared to the 10.
Different ethical theories consider more or less the intrinsic value of an individual whilst some consider the extrinsic values such as education, age etc making some people appear more valuable than others. In the case of the hostage situation it could be argued in the case of utilitarianism, by looking further than the hostage situation we can realise the 10 surgeons could collectively save more lives in their lifetime than the 30 in the other room. Interestingly Kant includes in his categorical imperative that a human is not a means to an end but an end itself, therefore concurring that humans are intrinsically valuable.
Causes that employ Kantian ethics in their ethical arguments:
- Pornography
- Prostitution
- Extramarital sex
Undoubtedly Kantian ethics on some level denies human nature which is essentially selfish, impulsive, self preserving and hedonistic. Now if you don’t agree that we’re self preserving, simply observe our tendency to live in groups, our isolation from dangerous habitats, our extensive research into life prolonging drugs and treatments and our desire to perpetuate life through childbirth ( perhaps an indirect form of gaining immortality) . Of course there are exceptions to the rules in the case of those who indulge in acts that could significantly shorten life such as smoking (although this is a means to end in terms of pleasure).
Immanuel Kant’s pricinciple of universality interestingly calls into question the idea of an objective good, and if such exists to what (or whom) would we consider the genesis. And if we can know such truth, how do we obtain it ?
Euthyphro’s Dilemma
Now let’s look into the premises of an omnipotent ( all powerful) God and how this pertains to objective truth. If something is considered all powerful, then there is nothing greater than it in terms of power and therefore it can do all things with no restriction. Let’s briefly summarise this:
- all powerful
- nothing greater than itself
- no restrictions
In my first post Gold Soul Theory: Philosopher King I explored the idea of the Forms which were immutable forms in the intelligible realm of which we observe imperfect instances in the physical realm. The premise that the immutable forms of ideas such as Beauty, Love and Goodness exist outside the physical realm, came from the characteristic of inevitable decay in the physical. Therefore an immutable and constant form would have to reside outside of a world of decay. The idea of the powerful and immutable residing outside of our realm was accepted even in the 1600s by poet John Milton who described Heaven and Hell and an entity called Chaos existing outside our sensory faculty in Paradise Lost.
- Is x good because God commands it ?
OR
- Does God command x because it is good ?
in order for a being to be considered God they have to fulfill the characteristics of omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. As an omnipotent God there would be no power greater and therefore a moral paradigm above God or outside of God’s power would render that thing more powerful and therefore God wouldn’t be God as previously described.
- As an omniscient God there would be no knowledge unbeknownst to God but would this imply that God knows Good (the form) or He created Good ?
- As an omnipresent God there would be nowhere devoid of God’s presence, therefore He would constantly be encountered and present in all things.
- If God is present in all things, we can deduce by virtue of creation (omnipotence) , He is in everything (omnipresence) and would therefore know everything (omniscience).
Euthyphro’s Dilemma was coined by Plato in one of his socratic dialogues where he and Euthyphro were having a discussion on piety. This came from the idea of divine command theory where Plato suggested if an action is only moral because God commands it, then morality is arbitrary.
Let’s take the classic example of murder:
“Thou shalt not kill”
Yet throughout the Bible we see numerous cases where the Israelites wipe out cities in order to recieve the promised land which was promised to their forefathers by God. Why was this murder condoned ?
Or perhaps when David murdered one of his generals because he coveted his wife Bathsheba. Why was this murder condoned ?
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” – Psalm 51:1-2
*** As humans we tend to demand vindication and judgement and are often disappointed when heinous acts are met with atonement or better still forgiveness.
- Read Matthew 7:1 & Luke 6:37-38
“ To err is human, to forgive is divine” – Alexander Pope
***
Now many may argue its just not fair but morality isn’t a matter of fairness but rather of goodness. You may then argue that the judgement simply isn’t consistent and conclude that every action is merited individually on it’s morality. When discussing judgement, one can invariably argue there has to be a condemner. This is where redemption and Jesus as Redeemer comes in.
I mean, what need is there for redemption without condemnation ?
– the observer
‘Ave a gander
For your reading pleasure:
- Isaiah 48
- Paradise Lost John Milton
- Groundwork for the metaphysics of morals Immanuel Kant
For your listening pleasure:
- Khadijah NxWorries
- Bar Therapy Cavalier ft. Quelle Chris & Iman Omari
- Deep Iman Omari
- Dirty Peaches 88 Keys ft. J*davey
- Mixed Messages Big K.R.I.T
- Red Clay Charlotte Dos Santos
- Give Me Your Love Curtis Mayfield
- Pink & White Frank Ocean
Album Spotlight : Private Stock Cavalier
thefulbe 