Overview

The moral argument for God's existence contends that the existence of objective moral values and duties provides evidence for God as their necessary foundation and source.

Basic Structure

Most versions of the moral argument follow this general pattern:

  1. Objective moral values and duties exist
  2. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist
  3. Therefore, God exists

Key Distinction

The argument typically distinguishes between moral values (good and bad) and moral duties (right and wrong). Both are claimed to require God as their ultimate ground.

Kant's Moral Argument

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) developed one of the most influential versions of the moral argument, though his approach differs from contemporary formulations.

Kant's Practical Postulate:
Morality requires the possibility of achieving the highest good (summum bonum), which combines virtue and happiness. Since this is not achievable in this life, we must postulate God's existence and the soul's immortality to make moral duty meaningful.

Kant's Reasoning

  • Moral duty: We are bound by the categorical imperative
  • Highest good: Virtue should be rewarded with happiness
  • Practical necessity: We must be able to achieve what morality demands
  • God as guarantor: Only God can ensure virtue is ultimately rewarded

Practical vs. Theoretical

Kant argued that while we cannot prove God's existence theoretically (through pure reason), we must postulate God's existence practically (for moral reasons). This is a "practical faith" rather than knowledge.

Craig's Contemporary Formulation

William Lane Craig has developed perhaps the most widely discussed contemporary version of the moral argument.

Craig's Argument:
1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist
2. Objective moral values and duties do exist
3. Therefore, God exists

Supporting the First Premise

Craig argues that without God:

  • There is no transcendent source of moral values
  • Humans are merely evolved animals with no special moral status
  • Moral duties would lack ultimate authority and grounding
  • There would be no objective moral difference between actions

Supporting the Second Premise

Craig appeals to moral intuitions and universal moral experiences:

  • Widespread agreement on basic moral principles
  • Moral outrage at atrocities like genocide
  • The sense that some things are objectively wrong
  • Cross-cultural moral similarities

Moral Ontology vs. Moral Epistemology

Craig emphasizes that the argument concerns the ontological foundation of morality (what grounds moral facts) rather than the epistemological question (how we know moral truths).

The Nature of Objective Morality

The moral argument depends crucially on the claim that objective moral values and duties exist.

What Makes Morality Objective?

Objective Moral Values:
Moral values are objective if they are true independently of what anyone believes about them. For example, "torturing innocent children for fun is wrong" would be true even if everyone believed it was right.

Arguments for Objective Morality

  • Moral disagreement: Disagreement presupposes objective truth
  • Moral progress: We can make genuine moral improvements
  • Moral criticism: We can meaningfully critique other cultures
  • Moral emotions: Guilt and indignation track objective wrongs

The Grounding Problem

If objective moral values exist, what makes them true? Proposed groundings include:

  • Divine command theory: God's commands create moral duties
  • Natural law theory: Human nature provides moral standards
  • Platonic realism: Moral facts exist as abstract objects

The Is-Ought Problem

David Hume's famous observation that you cannot derive an "ought" from an "is" challenges attempts to ground morality in natural facts alone. Theists argue that God bridges this gap.

Major Criticisms

The moral argument faces several significant philosophical objections.

The Euthyphro Dilemma

Plato's Challenge:
Is something moral because God commands it, or does God command it because it's moral? If the former, morality is arbitrary; if the latter, morality is independent of God.

Secular Moral Realism

  • Moral facts can exist as objective features of reality without God
  • Human nature and social cooperation provide moral foundations
  • Evolutionary explanations for moral intuitions
  • Contractual and constructivist theories of morality

Moral Anti-Realism

Some philosophers deny that objective moral facts exist at all:

  • Error theory: All moral claims are false (J.L. Mackie)
  • Expressivism: Moral claims express attitudes, not facts
  • Relativism: Moral truths are relative to cultures or individuals

The Problem of Evil

Critics argue that the existence of evil and suffering undermines the moral argument. If God exists and is the source of morality, why is there so much moral evil in the world?

Secular Alternatives

Many philosophers argue that objective morality can be grounded without appealing to God.

Evolutionary Ethics

  • Moral intuitions evolved to promote cooperation
  • Social emotions like empathy have survival value
  • Moral rules emerged from group selection pressures

Social Contract Theory

Contractualist Approach:
Moral principles are those that rational, self-interested individuals would agree to follow in a social contract for mutual benefit and cooperation.

Kantian Constructivism

  • Moral principles derive from rational agency itself
  • The categorical imperative provides objective moral law
  • Rationality, not God, grounds moral obligations

Naturalistic Approaches

  • Human flourishing as the foundation of ethics
  • Virtue ethics based on human nature
  • Consequentialist theories focusing on well-being

The Challenge of Normative Force

Defenders of the moral argument contend that secular theories struggle to explain why moral obligations are truly binding and authoritative rather than merely conventional or prudential.

Assessment

The moral argument remains a live debate in contemporary philosophy of religion, with thoughtful defenders and critics on both sides.

Strengths of the Argument

  • Appeals to widely shared moral intuitions
  • Addresses the grounding problem for objective morality
  • Provides unified explanation for moral values and duties
  • Connects morality to ultimate reality

Persistent Challenges

  • Viable secular alternatives to divine grounding
  • The Euthyphro dilemma remains unresolved
  • Disagreement about moral objectivity itself
  • The problem of evil and divine morality

Current Status

While the moral argument has not achieved consensus, it continues to generate sophisticated philosophical discussion and remains one of the more promising theistic arguments in contemporary philosophy of religion.