God and Morality
God and Morality pg.1
God and Morality
Claire Fermo
Ethics and Moral Reasoning PHI208
Dr. Sarah Cohen
April 1, 2012
God and Morality pg.2
The question is this – Is it possible to be of good moral character while not believing in God? Looking at the definition of morality as defined in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy the term morality can be used descriptively or actively.
A] to refer to some code of conduct put forward by a society or some other group such as religious. Or put forward by a society and is acceptable to an individual for his or her own behavior.
B] to refer to a code of conduct that, given specific conditions would be put forward by all rational persons.
Morality appears to be separate from religion and although not spoken of or referred to as such there are different groups of moral persons, not all are viewed as good or just. Some examples may include Christian morality, Nazi morality, Greek morality etc. At times etiquette is included as part of morality. Hobbs expresses a standard view when he talks about manners. “By manners I mean not here decency of behavior, as how one man should salute another, or how a man should wash his mouth or pick his teeth before company and such other parts of small morals, but those qualities of mankind that concern their living together in peace and unity.” (Hobbs, 2010).
The laws and our legal system is distinguished by a moral system that includes having written laws or rules, penalties and officials to make the laws and enforce
God and Morality pg.3 the laws and then penalize. Laws are often evaluated on moral grounds. Moral critisism is often used to support a change in a current law or to design a new law.
Religion differs from morality or having a moral system. Religious morality is based on stories or events that are past. These stories and events are used to justify the behavior that religion prohibits or requires. At
God and Morality
Claire Fermo
Ethics and Moral Reasoning PHI208
Dr. Sarah Cohen
April 1, 2012
God and Morality pg.2
The question is this – Is it possible to be of good moral character while not believing in God? Looking at the definition of morality as defined in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy the term morality can be used descriptively or actively.
A] to refer to some code of conduct put forward by a society or some other group such as religious. Or put forward by a society and is acceptable to an individual for his or her own behavior.
B] to refer to a code of conduct that, given specific conditions would be put forward by all rational persons.
Morality appears to be separate from religion and although not spoken of or referred to as such there are different groups of moral persons, not all are viewed as good or just. Some examples may include Christian morality, Nazi morality, Greek morality etc. At times etiquette is included as part of morality. Hobbs expresses a standard view when he talks about manners. “By manners I mean not here decency of behavior, as how one man should salute another, or how a man should wash his mouth or pick his teeth before company and such other parts of small morals, but those qualities of mankind that concern their living together in peace and unity.” (Hobbs, 2010).
The laws and our legal system is distinguished by a moral system that includes having written laws or rules, penalties and officials to make the laws and enforce
God and Morality pg.3 the laws and then penalize. Laws are often evaluated on moral grounds. Moral critisism is often used to support a change in a current law or to design a new law.
Religion differs from morality or having a moral system. Religious morality is based on stories or events that are past. These stories and events are used to justify the behavior that religion prohibits or requires. At