SUPERNATURALISM
An Introduction to Moral Philosophy
Supernaturalism Learning
Objectives:
Religion is a strong force in the discussion of morality. When we
ask someone why killing is bad, his or her usual response would be
because it goes against God's ten commandments—the action goes At the end of the discussion,
against His will. you should be able to:
One metaethical theory, known as Supernaturalism, argues that
enumerate the sources
morality is entirely based on religion. Thus, calling something
of God's will,
"good" means that God desires it.
explain how
supernaturalists define
the term "good",
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explain and criticize
arguments for believing
in supernaturalism, and
evaluate how religion
and belief in God
influence a person's
moral judgment.
Guide Questions: Learning
materials:
How does supernaturalism define "good"?
Pen and Paper
What are the sources of good's will?
Laptop and/or mobile
What are the arguments for and against supernaturalism?
How do religion and belief in God influence a person's moral device
judgment? Module
Moral minute
Are Filipinos religious? Explain your answer.
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Supernaturalism contends
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approaches to morality—
cultural relativism and
subjectivism—would only
Give three examples of how religion has influenced Filipinos''
lead us to ruin.
moral decision making.
If morality is based on
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either social a`pproval or
_________________________________________________________________________________ personal feelings, we can
easily justify that "killing is
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a complete chaos.
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To secure that order is in
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place, we need God as the
source of morality.
Supernaturalism
Supernaturalism says that moral judgments describe God's will.
They have three arguments to support that claim:
the Bible teaches it
all basic laws of every sort depend on God's will, and
God is the only plausible source of objective moral duties.
Ban the supernaturalism
Hi! I'm Ban, the supernaturalist.
God is not "all- I've embraced supernaturalism as I've come to appreciate the
deeply religious basis for morality. When I say that an action is
good" good, it means that God desires that action. I always treat moral
judgments as religious statements.
Supernaturalists define
“God” as simply “the
powerful, all-knowing
Creator of the world.”
If we will define “God” as “all
good,” this would only result
to circular definition (since
we used “God” to define
“good,” and then “good” to
define “God”).
The Ten
Commandments Belief in the Bible
Supernaturalism presumes belief in the Bible. The Bible always
Thou shalt not worship uses "good" as interchangeable with "what God desires." Also, the
false gods. writing of the ten commandments vividly teaches
Thou shalt not take supernaturalism. Thus, supernaturalism must be true because the
God's name on vain. bible teaches it.
Keep holy the Sabbath.
Honor thy father and thy
mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit
adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false
witnesses.
Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife.
Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's goods.
Belief in God
If you believe in the Bible, supernaturalists would argue that it is
necessary to presume belief in God. This would lead us to believe
that all basic laws of every sort depend on God's will. This includes
all basic moral laws. Thus, morality is dependent on God's will.
God created the moral order, and his will distinguishes right from
wrong. If He desires honesty, therefore, honesty is good.
Belief in objective morality Sources of moral
obligations
Supernaturalists argue that belief in an objective morality requires
us to admit that there is a source for moral duties or obligations.
They argue that the only source of obligation that works is God. The source of moral
obligations could only be a
Thus, belief in objective moral duties requires belief in God.
non-person, individual
preferences, society, or
God.
Supernaturalism contends
that the non-religious
alternatives would not
work:
a non-person: they are
inferior to persons.
individual preferences:
you could release
Think of this
yourself from any
obligation at will.
Explain your answers to the following questions:
Will it be possible to believe in God without believing in any
religion? society: they have no
Will it be possible to believe in any religion without believing in moral authority over us
God? if they tell us to do
Is belief in God requires the existence of God?
what is wrong.
Sources of God's Will
The best way to know God's will is to combine these four sources:
Bible: All sacred texts have the same general message about
God's will--God wants us to have concern and love for each
other and treat others as we want to be treated.
Church: We should look at church as a wise teacher- we listen
and try to learn, but we may disagree on some details.
Prayer: To avoid confusing our feelings as a sign of God's will,
we need inputs from the Bible and the church to help us form
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our conscience.
Reason: God implants our moral intuitions to help us know His
will.
Why Supernaturalism?
Compared to Cultural Relativism and Subjectivism, where morality
is relative to something. Supernaturalism gives us an objective
basis for morality. For example, racists actions are objectively
wrong since God forbids them. So the duty to oppose racism is
serious. Many supernaturalists are prepared to die in defense of
their moral beliefs.
Aginst Supernaturalism
To recall, supernaturalists have three arguments for their claim:
(1) the Bible teaches it,
(2) all basic laws of every sort depend on God's will, and
(3) God is the only plausible source of objective moral duties
But these arguments fall apart if we examine them carefully.
Dealing with
(1) The Bible, properly understood, does not take a stand for or
atheists against supernaturalism. It only teaches us that we ought to obey
God.
Supernaturalists see atheists
as confused about morality. (2) It is doubtful that all basic laws depend on God's will. Some laws
Atheists first got their values are true in themselves and do not the authority of God. For
from a religious source. They example, the identity law ( 1 = 1).
only lost their religion but
(3) It is doubtful that all objective duties need a source. Maybe
kept the values—even
basic moral truths (like x = x) are true in themselves and not true
though the values make
because someone made them true. Thus, they would not need a
sense only on a religious
source.
basis.
Since atheists do not believe
in God and the Bible, there is
no sense for
supernaturalists to talk with
them. Atheists could not
even make positive moral
judgments consistently.
Assessment #4 Reference
Write your initial reaction to supernaturalism. Does it seem
Gensler, H. Ethics: A
plausible to you? What do you like and dislike about it?
Contemporary Introdcution.
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United Kingdom: Routledge,
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2011.
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For further readings
Books:
Is an action good because God desires it, or God desires the
Gensler, H. "Historical
action because it is good? Explain first the difference between
Dictionary of Ethics."
the two statements. Then, choose and explain which seems to 48
Gensler, H. "The Sheed &
be more plausible
Ward Anthology of
Catholic Philosophy."
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Online articles
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https://www.britannica.
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com/topic/supernatural
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ism
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/e
thics/introduction/supe
rnaturalism_1.shtml
Video links:
https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?
v=wRHBwxC8b8I
