tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post3884775238191557204..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Testing Controversial Ideas ObjectivelyAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-31130662702643519462022-03-28T20:51:28.876-04:002022-03-28T20:51:28.876-04:00I think its a very good reason to throw divinity a...I think its a very good reason to throw divinity away. Its a human concept, that has no referent. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-25227992893142723572022-03-28T13:52:27.130-04:002022-03-28T13:52:27.130-04:00There is actually an important point to be discove...There is actually an important point to be discovered by such an inquiry, namely, what really is at work in driving moral views. Kierkegaard pushed a line of inquiry on the subject of divine command ethics: what if God told you to do it? If God is free to countermand ordinary ethical norms/laws, what then are they rooted upon? That sets up two different kind of morality, both divine in origin: an ordinary divinely rooted morality that comes from reasoning from God's work, i.e. nature; and a special divine command morality reserved for those whom God contacts directly. <br /><br />This is very relevant for Muslims, especially, regarding Muhammad's younger wives. Should one take his very young wife as God making an exception to fulfil a divine plan and avoid marrying young girls one's self, or should one view him as an exemplar from which to shape one's own lives? Which approach is the right one? Muhammad is ordinarily put forward as an exemplar for life-shaping, but perhaps this is an occasion when reasoning from ordinary nature is more appropriate? <br /><br />As non-Muslims we are entitled to say "Well, we think Muhammed was acting improperly here, indeed so much so as to call into question the validity of his teachings as a whole -- at least in areas where his teachings are plausibly explained as self-interested." (Another one: near death, Muhammad received a prophetic warning that no one ought to marry any of his wives after he died.) But then we must live in a society with Muslims, and need a way of interacting with them that does not entail insulting their beliefs. Then the source of morality is no longer divine -- neither direct command, nor ordinary reasoning from nature -- but social. <br /><br />There are other alternatives, and this kind of thing could go on for a while; but that's why it might seem like an interesting question to a philosopher (even one who is firmly rooted on the idea that sex with children is always wrong).Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.com